Kat re-brushed her strawberry blond tresses for what seemed like the fiftieth time as she waited for her nail polish to dry. She was so excited that she had exactly managed to talk Lucian into taking her to the dance. It was strange that he had called up so sudden the next day, proclaiming that he had changed his mind and would love to go with her. Of course, Tyrell had been more than alarmed at this unexpected change of plans. It seemed to Kat that her brother was set on distancing her from Lucian as much as he could.

She knew why though. It was true that she had gone through her share of boyfriends over the last three years. Some had ended up leaving her because they were shallow and only wanted to be with her for her pretty looks and prestige. After all, she was the most popular girl in Carthala. No one else ever came close to her sense of style or her witty sense of humor. People just loved to be around her, because even though many said she was dominating, Kat effused power. She was not a weak girl like many others attending the private school. She was proud and prone to letting people know, in no uncertain terms, when they had angered her. It was known throughout the school that Kat had the most vicious temper of the bunch but she commanded obedience from her followers and she always got it. Every boy that had ever jilted her had quickly fallen in the popularity rank of the students. The guys that she had dumped were given much fairer treatment.

So yes, she was known as a bit of a flirt. But it wasn’t as if she didn’t treat the boys she dated with respect. While she was a little over-enthusiastic in gaining their attention, once they had agreed to a relationship, she had always become a lot more easy-going. Tyrell had never known this because aside from Maren, he had never been with Kat on any of her dates. Maren was an exception; he deserved constant torment because that was what he enjoyed. Kat could tell that her playful games with him had always gotten a positive reaction, even though Maren pretended that he had no interest in her. She liked that about him.

For a while now, he had been the only one on her mind. But then again, he had never told her that he was in love with her. That confession from Lucian made it seem all the more right to pursue him. Nobody said things like that unless they felt something for somebody else. Love was a powerful word and Lucian would never use it in such an artificial way. That was the thought that constantly drove her toward him despite his habit of freezing up whenever things starting to get serious. Yes, the movie night had been a fiasco. Lucian had looked like he was about to pass out and at the restaurant before then, he had been unusually quiet around her. Perhaps, Lucian was just shy of a real relationship right now. Well, she was determined to change that tonight. This dance would give her the perfect chance to show the other boy how she felt.

More determined than ever to win Lucian over, Kat stood up in front of her full-size mirror, examining her dress to make sure that it had no flaws of any kind. The dark green silk contrasted well with her hair and brought out the sapphire light of her eyes. It had cost her most of her allowance to afford this item and she wanted it to look perfect tonight. Turning around she tightened the strands in the back and then reached for a few pieces of ribbon to add to her hair once she finished plaiting it. Once she had secured the mass of colorful waves in the ribbon, she wound the braid around the back of her head in a fashionable bun. The new hairstyle did wonders for showing off her slender shoulders above her low-cut dress.

As she placed a rose pin in the center of the bun, she heard a knock from downstairs. "I’ll get it," Kathryn called down, tossing the rest of her preparations to the ground. For a second she was afraid that her parents would want to get photos of her walking down the staircase. But then, she remembered they could always wait until the spring formal.

"All right," a mature feminine voice, most likely her mother, responded from another room. She raced to the door, thankful that she had left her high heels downstairs. She opened the door and gave an elated squeal.

"Oh I’m so happy you decided to come after all!" She wanted to throw her arms around the red-haired boy standing before her, but then she remembered how he usually reacted to that sort of thing. It would not be a good idea to get him too tense before even reaching the dance. "Come in. I’ve got to find my shoes before we go."

Lucian offered a kind smile before accepting her invitation and entering the house. "It seems those exams weren’t so hard to study for so I’ve got some free time. Besides, I could use something to get my mind all this Chimera stuff that’s being going on. So where’s Tye?"

"Don’t know. Haven’t seem him since school ended. Maybe he went somewhere with Angelique," Kat answered as she crawled around the floor, looking for her heels. After a couple moments of extensive searching, she located them on top of a counter. She began to slide on the shoes as Lucian sat down on the couch and looked at her with melancholic eyes.

"Kathy, can I ask you something?" he started as he traced a small triangle on the couch with her fingertip.

"Sure."

"Why do you like me?"

Kat was alarmed by his question. She raised her head from the shoe she was adjusting and gazed at him in bewilderment. "Everyone likes you Lucian," she laughed, her voice sounding nervous to her. Lucian shook his head and intensified his garnet glance so much that she felt like she was being skewered by it.

"Not everyone," he mumbled angrily, tossing his head to the side as he stared down at the floor. "That’s not what I meant anyway. I want to know why you want me to be your boyfriend so much."

"Oh," Kat gasped as she noticed the sober sheen of his eyes. "I guess it’s because you said that you said that you loved me."

A look of frustration crossed Lucian’s face. "Is that the only reason? Because I said that?"

"Isn’t that enough?" she asked, becoming worried about where their conversation was heading. Why was Lucian asking her such strange questions? Wasn’t it obvious why she liked him? He was nice and friendly, and most important of all, incredibly handsome. He was the ideal choice of boyfriend for her, one that could balance out her zealous temper while managing to get in a few cracks of his own.

"Maybe," Lucian consented in a very subdued tone, moving his fingers over the tiny curl at the end of his ponytail. Kat could tell that it wasn’t how he normally did his hair and figured that he must have just added the extra refinement for tonight. "I just thought there might be more to it than that since you seem so determined to spend time with me."

"I want to spend time with you because I want to get to know you better. I want to be able to really understand the boy who tells me that he’s in love with me."

"You think you could understand me, Kathy? I mean, really understand?" her companion inquired, his voice gaining a desperate feel to it.

Kat finished placing her heel and then trotted over to join him on the couch, sitting right beside him and showing him a sincere nod. "I think I could. You may not believe this, Lucian, but I’m actually quite good at understanding people when given the chance. I do know how to do more than just talk. I can also listen." Lucian’s silence encouraged her to go on. "For example, I’d listen if you told me why you told me that you loved me."

Lucian jerked back, surprised by the change of topic. It was then that he seemed to realize how close Kat had gotten within the last minute. He pressed his back against the couch, apparently trying to ward off the feeling that always overcame him when they were together. His cheeks flushed and swallowed inside his throat two times before he attempted to respond. "I can’t tell you."

"Why?" pleaded Kathryn, scooting her self to the right of Lucian in order to prevent him from getting any more stressed.

"I can’t tell you because I don’t know why I said it. That’s why I want to know why you still want to go through with a relationship. How do you even know that what I said was pure? How do you know we’re not just basing this entire setup on a bunch of rash words?"

"You don’t believe that, do you Lucian?"

The boy turned from her, placing a hand over his eyes and leaning his elbow on the armrest. "I don’t know. I just don’t understand anything anymore. I don’t know what I feel. I just don’t want you to get hurt because of my problems. You deserve someone who can give you their true feelings."

His words shocked Kat to the core and she felt impelled to reach out and comfort him. Forgetting about Lucian’s reactions to these types of actions, the girl placed an arm around his shoulder and rested her head on top of his. "It’s okay. I don’t care what this is based on. It feels real to me and that’s all that matters." Unable to speak, Lucian stared up at her and blinked his eyes in disbelief. "You’re a kind person Lucian, I know you wouldn’t lie to me," Kat purred with a gentle smile.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Kathy," Lucian sighed as the old feeling of queasiness and fever started to return to him, making it hard to keep his eyes on the younger girl. She removed her head from on top of his and swept down so that they were at eye level. Lucian knew that something was going on. He wanted to leave. He was starting to sink into that spiral of emotions again. Everything was disappearing around him, as all he could see were the reassuring eyes of Kathryn. All he could focus on were those two pinpoints of the darkest blue, so dark that they were like gazing into the deepest depths of the ocean realms. The intense hues of the orbs crashed within their shimmering prisons, pulling him along with every flicker of the gaze.

His mind clouded as he felt himself start to slip away, yet he remained wide-awake and fully conscious. It was too much. Those sapphire eyes. That mass of strawberry-blonde hair. Those sweet words whispered through the air. His head was screaming at him to capture this exquisite beauty. He didn’t understand the reason for his sudden lust. But he could no longer escape the insatiable demands.

Reaching up a hand he cupped Kat’s cheek and pulled himself up to plant a fevered kiss on her decorated lips. Kat tensed for a second, startled by the actions of her companion, but then relaxed and allowed herself to submit to his passion. Lucian’s hand wandered over to her neck, pulling her closer to him. "Danae," he whispered as he kissed her even deeper this time. Kat was so lost in the thrill of the moment that she failed to notice the name that he had breathed out in a languid bass.

As the name reached his ears, something in Lucian snapped. What was he doing? This didn’t feel right. It just felt wrong. Empty and wrong. The excitement that the action should have brought him wasn’t there. He didn’t feel complete or satisfied. He just felt cold. There was no substance in the kiss. There was nothing at all.

Terrified, he jerked back from Kat, breaking both the kiss as well as the embrace. His head was pounding now, forcing him to tilt it back, as he panted in coarse sobs. He saw the appalled visage of Kat as she tried to make out what had gone wrong. He was hurting her and he knew it. But he just felt that he had to get away. He had to get away from her. From what she was doing to him. It wasn’t right. It was sickening and twisted. He hadn’t wanted to do that just now. Something else inside him had. He didn’t understand.

Lucian scrambled away from the girl, stumbling to the floor and falling on his knees. He knew he shouldn’t have gone through with this. He should have let the other Guardians handle it. He should have forgotten about keeping his cool reputation for once and just gone to the dance by himself. Agreeing to go with Kat had just been asking for trouble. But wasn’t that what always wanted in the first place? He went looking for danger all the time. That was why he chose to spend so much time with the unpredictable Dominic. But this was different. This wasn’t the danger he wanted. This wasn’t the danger that he could control. This danger controlled him. That realization sent an icy shiver through his body. He wanted to run.

"Lucian?" The trembling voice caught him off-guard, forcing him to look up at Kat, who still remained on the couch, tears threatening the corners of her eyes. She looked as if she had been slapped in the face as a stark white tone spread across her flesh. "Lucian, what’s wrong?"

He felt disgusted with himself. She was frightened and it was his fault. Now she thought that she had done something. Though she had caused the reaction, it had not been on purpose. She had no reason to be ashamed. He had to let her know that.

"Nothing," he said, dropping his eyes, "It’s nothing. I just….I’m just not feeling right today. Maybe we should call off the dance."

"No!" she exclaimed as she leapt from the couch and rushed over to him. "No, it’s all right. We can just forget about this for now. I understand that you’re just not used to being with someone like this."

"That’s not it. I’ve dated quite a few people over the years Kathy and I’ve never acted as foolish as this. I don’t know why it always happens around you."

"Don’t worry about it. Now come on, we’re going to be late," quipped Kathryn as she grasped his hand and pulled him to his feet.

Lucian allowed her to pull him upright and then glanced at her in amazement, his eyes showing his inability to understand. Why did she still want him to come? Didn’t she care that he had kissed her and then shirked away like a helpless puppy? "Why are you doing this?" he asked as Kat began to pull him toward the door.

"Because one day, I want to be able to tell you that I love you too."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Dominic trudged into the ballroom with Erik grumbling in his wake. She was wearing a fairly simple dress made from golden fabric that managed to highlight the dark blond streaks of her hair. The dress fell to her heels, which were laced up in boring white dress shoes. After some heavy coercing by Tashira, she had finally conceding to donning a silver comb in her hair, complete with a dazzling jade stone in the center. It went well with the jade rose that she still wore around her throat in preparation for any unintended guests.

"I feel sick!" she hissed to Dominic as the older youth rolled his eyes and dragged her farther into the room. "I look like one of those prissy teenagers who prance around calling themselves princesses!"

"No, you look like a girl." Dominic corrected in a mundane tone as she made an attempt to crunch her heel into his foot.

"How would you like to be wearing this…this…outrage?" the blond roared as Dominic as he whirled his foot to the side in the nick of time.

"I am not a girl. And you shouldn’t bitch so much. I’m not happy with what I’m wearing either. Remember, Ambrose picked it out," the boy growled, releasing Erik’s wrist as the entered the main room.

"A dress suit is nothing compared to a damn dress!"

"Erik, you are overreacting. This is just temporary. I’d rather not even be here at all. But it’s our job to guard the Keys so just keep your mouth shut and do what you were told."

Erik glared at him and folded her hands over her chest in an unmistakably masculine gesture. "I told you. Do not call me Erik while we’re here. If you need to refer to me as a name, use Rose. I would not have those idiotic friends of Tyrell seeing me like this," she whispered to the dark-haired youth in nasty tone.

Dominic sighed and ran his hands through his hair, as he was prone to do whenever he became especially agitated. Erik was making this ten times harder than it had to be. With all he whining, someone was sure to pick up on the fact that they were not a consenting couple. He knew that dressing up like the other girls was grating Erik’s nerves, but she was a Guardian and as such should get used to challenges. Her having a huge pity party would not make his stay any more enjoyable than it already was.

"Fine. Rose, nobody is going to notice you. Because outside of the Guardians and the Keys, everyone thinks you’re a guy. So stop fussing about it," he commanded her as she turned her back on him and threw herself down at a table.

She scratched at the fancy candle centerpiece and knocked her heels against the floor, trying to create noise that would tick off her companion. Dominic pretended not to notice as he glanced around the ballroom, searching for either the Keys or the rest of the Guardians. Noticing that her action wasn’t making any progress with Dominic, Erik discontinued the kicking and started twirling one of the glass goblets, which had been sitting on the table, within her fingers. The crystal edges caught the rays of light from the chandeliers, covering the tablecloth with rainbows of prismatic shapes.

"So where is your hopeless partner, anyway Solanis? I thought he said he’d be here by now. I do not like waiting," she griped as she flipped the fragile item in her grasp.

"Hell if I know. I’m not his baby-sitter," snapped Dominic, growing irritated at the revolving motion of Erik’s glass. "Cut that out! You’ll break it!" He snatched the goblet from Erik and held it in his hand as Erik shot him a repulsed look.

Then, she flipped back her head and leaned back against her chair, lifting it onto two legs as she watched Dominic clutch the glass tightly. "Getting a little tense, are we Solanis?"

"Don’t test me Rose. I’m not in the mood."

Erik pushed the chair back and the ground and rested her elbow on the edge of the table, placing her chin on the heel of her palm. "You can’t possibly be worried about that boy. He’s absolutely useless. Not only is reckless with everything he does, but also he’s an incredible nuisance."

"Shut up!" her companion snarled as he slammed one hand down on the table, making Erik jump in surprise. "Ambrose is my concern. Not yours. I’ll handle him."

"Tender subject, huh Solanis?"

"Get up and help me find Tyrell," Dominic groaned as he spun her around on the chair. Erik cursed at him and drew back her hand to slap him.

"Whoa! Can’t leave you two alone, can I?" shouted a voice from behind them as both youths jerked their heads to the side. Lucian was laughing at Kat’s side as the girl rested her head on his shoulder. "Come on. Can’t you kids at least pretend like you’re having fun?"

"Ambrose!" spat the oldest youth as he made a lunge at his partner. Erik duplicated his action as Lucian dashed to the side, dragging Kat with him.

Still, infuriated at his partner’s tardiness, Dominic glowered at him as he observed what the redhead had chosen for tonight’s attire. Lucian was clad in a lavish vermilion blouse overlaid by a black tuxedo jacket complete with matching pants. His ruby amulet dangled from around his neck accesorizing the ruby cross that he wore on the top cartilage of his left ear and the sparkling black stud that graced the bottom. The jewelry served to highlight the exotic color of his deep crimson eyes, or at least it would have were they not hidden under a pair of thin tinted glasses. It was a much more dressy attire than Dominic had ever seen him take on before. He had even tied off his lengthy ponytail, which had been slightly curled at the bottom, with a strand of fine black ribbon. It gave him a refined and noble appearance. Dominic was surprised at how well Lucian was able to pull it off, given his notoriety for acting more like a jester than a prince.

"Hey, at least you two can work together on something," Lucian whimpered, alerting Dominic to his human presence once more, as the younger boy tried to stay a healthy distance from his companions. Kat giggled at the group’s antics and gave an amused glance to the other couple.

"Erik, you look cute," she praised as she reached for the bottle on the table and poured some into a glass. Erik made an unintelligible noise and shot out a hand to grab the hem of Kat’s dress. Lucian jumped in between the two and pushed Kathryn back.

"I see Tye told you about Rose here," whispered Lucian, emphasizing Rose so that Kat would understand their need to use the alias. The blue-eyed girl just snickered and downed the glass, gazing at Lucian with playful eyes.

Dominic noticed the look, feeling a twisted feeling in his chest. Why was that girl ogling Lucian like that? Sure, she was his girlfriend, but did she have to flaunt it like that? And why did he even give a damn? Lucian was just his partner. They weren’t even friends.

Perturbed by these nagging feelings, Dominic grit his teeth and crumpled onto one of the chairs at the table. He titled the bottle to his glass and begin pouring the liquid as he kept his eyes focused on Kat who was trying to tell Lucian some sort of joke. Lucian was giving her a generous smile as Kat flicked his nose. A sudden cold sensation alerted Dominic to the fact that he had overfilled the glass and it was now dripping on the table and seeping through the sleeve of his suit.

"Damn it!" he yelped as he jerked his hand away from the mess and started looking for something to wipe up the spilt juice.

"Whatever are you trying to do, Nicky?" Lucian chuckled as he grabbed the rolled up napkins from another table and tried to help Dominic mop up the mess. "Weren’t you paying attention?"

"Piss off!"

"Do you want my help or not?" his partner barked as his head suddenly shot up from the table. His eyes brightened as he seemed to notice something approaching. "Shira!"

Dominic also raised his head as he saw Tashira rushing up to the group, lugging along a distraught Tyrell. Tashira was dressed in an elaborate back-less dress that barely reached past her knees with matching high heels that laced up her ankles in delicate spirals. The heels were unbelievably high and she balanced on them as if she were a tightrope walker as she dashed over to her brother and his companions.

"Luce, you look great. Drop dead gorgeous as always," she flattered as Lucian stared back at her, unconvinced by her attempts to stray him away form the fact that she was here with Tyrell. "Oh and look, here’s the ever cheerful Dominic and his escort Rose," she added in a mocking tone, making sure that Dominic noticed how she had referred to Erik as the dominating partner.

"It’s a pleasure as always, Tashira," Dominic groaned as he finished cleaning of the table, throwing the used napkins to the side.

"Why are you here with Tye?" demanded Lucian, giving his sister the evil eye. "We talked about this the other day, remember?"

Tashira laughed with glee and smoothed back her white-silver mane as Tyrell crept over to the side. "Never underestimate my powers of persuasion," she cooed. "Besides, I promised you that if you went with Ms. Princess over there, that I would go with Tyrell. Maybe next time, you’ll take me seriously."

"Shira," warned the red-haired boy as the joking light in Tashira’s eyes faded and she gave a discontent sigh.

"Oh all right, be a party pooper. I’m acting as a go-betweener for Angelique and Tyrell. We figured taking your cousin to the dance would be a little risky. So I’m playing his date so that he can get in a few "friendly" dances with Angelique," Tashira confessed as Angelique walked up to the group.

Lucian gave his twin a stunned glance as he struggled to take in what she was doing. Angelique’s dress was also black but it was a much more formal style than Tashira’s with a slight drop of the shoulders. Tyrell ran up to her and took her hand, grinning as he started to lead her to the dance floor.

"Thanks Tashira," he called back while Angelique gave a tiny wave to the gray-eyed twin. Tashira shrugged and tossed him a pleasant smile, mouthing ‘have fun.’

She turned back to Lucian and sat against the table, twiddling with the opal amulet that swung against her breastbone. The table shifted under her weight and Erik pushed it back in frustration. Lucian walked in front of Tashira and looked at her in awe.

"Shira. You’re okay with this? But you said it was wrong," he posed to her, still cocking his head and giving her that quizzical glance.

"She’s not his cousin," Tashira responded with as she reached for Dominic’s glass and drank it down in one gulp.

"What?"

Just then, Kat hooked her arm with Lucian as a the strains of a slow dance began to drift through the room. "Come on Lucian, we haven’t gotten to dance that many times tonight. And this is one of my favorites," she urged, pulling the red-haired boy away from his sister before he could get an answer.

"Yes, rush off with your girlfriend," mocked Erik, stirring her drink with a fingernail as Lucian gave her a baleful glance.

Tashira let out an aggravated groan and was surprised to hear a similar noise coming from somewhere behind her. She turned her head to see Dominic storming away from the table and heading for the refreshment section. Baffled, Tashira looked over at Erik who was watching Tyrell twirl his silver-haired companion in a beautiful arc around him. Through with trying to understand any of this, Tashira situated herself in the chair next to Erik and poured herself another drink.

Erik also noticed the irritation Dominic had shown in his abrupt departure. She raised her eyes to the sulking youth and leaned on her elbow, calling out to him in a sing-song voice, "Where are you going Solanis, shouldn’t you be keeping an eye on Tyrell? Or are you unhappy that your partner is blowing you off to spend time with our fair Kathryn?"

As he left, Dominic couldn’t help but detect a note of instigation in her taunt. Why did she seem so interested in his association with Lucian? It was almost as if she wanted him to be angry with Kat for keeping the younger boy from his mission tonight. But, why would she want to do that? He shook his head to clear his mind and continued on his way.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Dominic hissed under his breath as tried to keep his eyes off the sight of his partner approaching the center of the dance floor. What the hell was Lucian doing? He was supposed to be keeping an eye on Tyrell not satisfying Kathryn’s need for attention. He had been so busy glaring at the younger girl that he had almost missed Tashira’s mention of Angelique not really being Tyrell’s cousin. If that was the case, then maybe his odd suspicions about her loyalty might not be wrong after all. It would pay to keep a very close watch on the two tonight. He was just glad that he hadn’t seen the Amethyst around Angelique’s next tonight. True, it could be hidden under the neckline of her dress, but he was confident that it wasn’t there. Angelique worshipped that wretched gem, she would gladly display it over her black attire if she had it.

Just thinking about that jewel made him sick. All the things that it had made him see. These were supposed to have been forgotten a long time ago. He had spent four years blocking out his past. How could a simple relic have the power to bring them all back to him in such stark realism? He didn’t want to remember. He wanted to forget it all. His father. His childhood. His frailty. And most of all, he wanted to forget Aiden.

That last part was steadily becoming harder and harder to accomplish though. His partner was having a significant impact on it as well. Everything Lucian did reminded him of Aiden, from his attempts to get him to lighten up to his ever-confident attitude. Even that ridiculous ponytail of Lucian’s was almost the exact same style of Aiden used to wear his hair. Maybe it was their resemblance that was sparking his growing interest in the younger boy. Maybe he just wanted to pretend that Aiden was still with him. Only that Aiden wasn’t. He never would be again. It was his fault that Aiden was gone. His fault.

There was one thing that set the two figures apart though and that was their overall outlook toward life. Whereas Aiden had shown him that he cherished it and didn’t want to risk losing it for one second, Lucian appeared to relish the chance to bring it to a screaming halt. He liked tempting fate. Angelique had been right. Lucian was addicted to danger. Hanging around him would just make him even more messed up than he already was. Yet, Dominic did not want to leave. At least, not until he could understand why Lucian seemed to crave peril when his life was so disgustingly perfect. He had everything, a massive house, a caring if not over-protective sister, and a stable life. Was there one thing bad about his life?

Then Dominic remembered the other night. He recalled how he had come to Lucian’s aid to find him trapped within one of his nightmares. What sort of person had violent dreams like that? Lucian had said that he had always had them. Did that mean since he was young? Did he have those horrible vision when he was still a child? Just the thought of what it must have felt like to experience such terror when you were barely able to talk sent a sharp chill down Dominic’s back. What could cause such dreams? Perhaps, Lucian’s life wasn’t as perfect as he had thought.

The memory of last night introduced yet another element into Dominic’s quandary. When he had woken up the following morning, he had been most shocked to find Lucian nuzzled up against him, one arm thrown over his side and resting easier than he had ever seen him sleep. Their closeness had frightened Dominic for a moment and he had contemplated waking the boy and telling him to back off. He had even considered yelling at him for getting close despite what he had informed him were the conditions of the bed. But that relaxed and serene expression on Lucian’s face had dissuaded him from such aggressive actions. Yet it wasn’t just the sight of his partner looking so tranquil against his side that had played the deciding factor in his refusal to scream at the young boy. It was also the feeling that he had felt in those moments. The way Lucian was curled up by his back looked almost as though the red-haired boy needed him for the comfort. Lucian wanted to be close to him. It was an unusual feeling for him.

All of his life, he had always needed something from others whether it was attention, affection, or just understanding. Of course, that had changed over the last four years and now he neither wanted nor needed anything. But, in all those times in his past, he had never felt needed himself. Even Nadia had never acted as though she truly needed him, though she had expressed how much she cared for him. A part of him liked the feeling. He liked feeling like he was that important to someone else. Knowing that, he couldn’t force Lucian away at the moment.

He had remained there for another good ten minutes before finally easing away from the younger youth so as not to jostle him with his movements. When Lucian had woken up a few hours later and found him enraged in the composition of his notebook again, the red-haired boy had been more quiet than usual. Dominic had figured that he didn’t want to bring up what had happened the last night. For once, the dark-haired youth had complied with his partner’s wishes.

Now, Lucian was off courting Kat and leaving him to do all the work of looking after Tyrell. The thought brought him back to his current state of mind. Snatching a deviled egg from the crystal plate, he pinched it between his fingers and nibbled at it, still unable to take his eyes of the dancing form of his partner and his date. He reached for another egg as it was swept off the plate before he could get it. Turning around, he found himself looking into a pair of steel gray eyes that radiated delinquency.

"Maren," he addressed in a dull tone as the raven-haired youth waggled his fingers at him and swallowed the appetizer in one huge bite.

"Dominic Solanis. Must say I’m surprised to see you here. I didn’t figure you for the dancing type," Maren taunted as he moved to the side of the table, standing in front of the punch bowl. He ladled a cup full and took a hearty sip. "Tastes so much better than before now that it’s got a little added kick."

"Did you spike it?" Dominic charged, not really caring if the younger boy had or not. He just wanted a reason to avoid answering Maren’s initial questioning comment.

The raven-haired youth smirked and ladled Dominic a cup. "So what if I did? You’re not an advocate for outlawing underage drinking, are you?"

Dominic took the cup and emptied it into another glass goblet that had been left on the table. He took a polite sip and then held the glass by the stem in a well-bred fashion as he regarded Maren with a stern visage. "And Tyrell chooses to hang out with you? You’re a terrible influence."

"Aww, is his widdle watchdog going to rat me out? I know who you are now. Arteme told me all about his friendly Guardians."

Dominic was caught off-guard by the boast. Tyrell had told someone else about the Keys and the Guardians? He had not counted on Tyrell being that trusting or that stupid. What was the Key trying to do? He fought to regain his composure and snarled to Maren, "When did that infernal child talk to you?"

Maren didn’t seem to mind that chilling tone and shrugged as he swirled the ladle around the punch bowl. "It seems that Arteme feels that his Guardians don’t really care about him at all. He told me that all you guys care about is some freaky power that he’s supposed to have some connection with. He didn’t say what though."

"Good. At least, he has some ounce of common sense."

"Arteme confides in me whole-heartedly Dominic. He trusts me. Apparently, he doesn’t hold the same trust in you or he would have told you that I have known about the Keys since they first discovered their powers. Now, the Guardians were new to me. Arteme needed to vent so he chose his best friend. Wise choice I think."

"In your eyes," the older boy replied with a harsh bark of his voice. "His choice may not be so wise in the long run."

"We’ll see. In the meantime, how about telling me whether you plan on informing the chaperones of my experimentation with their drinks? Are you going to try and spoil my fun? Are we that protective of poor innocent Arteme?" Maren derided as his steely eyes darkened with a look that promised serious consequences for a wrong answer.

"I could care less if you get this whole dance procession drunk. All that matters to me is that Tyrell is not disoriented to the point that he can’t defend himself. Just don’t let him drink any of this and you can get everyone wasted if you wish," Dominic explained to him coldly as Maren nodded his head in agreement, the fierce look fading from his eyes.

Then, the gray-eyed boy shot an angry look toward the professional band playing the lilting music from a corner of the room. He pointed toward them and growled through his teeth, "Besides it’s mostly those posers that I want to get intoxicated. Both them and my band auditioned for the gig tonight and they got picked because they’re music is more mellow. I tell you schools just hate anything controversial. They deserve to get their precious Homecoming thrashed." He took another swig of his cup. "STRYFE can outplay them any day of the week. God, look how horrible their lead singer is. Even Cye sings better than that and he sticks to drums."

"You’re a very Machiavellian sort of guy, aren’t you Maren?"

"You bet. And don’t think I’m just saying that because I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve gone through my European history. The Prince was great. ‘The ends justify the means’ all the way. I figure a guy like you would understand my point."

Dominic was getting tired of the conversation already. Though Maren had a very anarchist point of view, he did have more important things to worry about right now. He turned to leave when he saw Kat wrapping her arms around Lucian’s neck. Suddenly, sticking around Maren seemed a very appealing idea. Anything to get his mind of that trite.

He returned his attention to the younger boy and stared at the non-formal getup he was sporting, which included a loose-fitting bright red dress shirt and a pair of way too tight black vinyl pants. He had even left his eyebrow ring in as well as his trail of earrings ascending his ear, with his assorted spiked chokers and chain necklaces producing a somewhat menacing effect. He had also left his hair in a very mussed condition, with the dyed red spikes splaying out in a variety of directions. For the most part, it looked like he had just rolled out of the bed and thrown some clothes on. It would not be stretching it to say that Maren didn’t really look like he had planned attending this diversion.

"So if you hate the dance, why are you here Maren?" he asked as Maren motioned toward Lucian and Kathryn.

"I’m keeping my eye on the Kat-lady tonight. Got to make sure that Lucian is worthy. Plus, Cyrus wanted to bring Gayle and he insisted that I come along to check out our competition here. What Cye sees in that girl I’ll never know? Maybe she just provides the perfect balance for his workaholic personality. She is a real flake sometimes. It’s good to see him enjoying the simple things in life though. With any luck, he may not be so pissed at us come tomorrow. STRYFE has a major gig and I’d prefer him to be in a chipper mood for tomorrow’s practice," Maren informed his companion as Dominic shrugged his shoulders in reply as he struggled to keep his eyes off the dance floor. The other boy seemed to notice his distraction and gave him a leering glare. "So you like her too now?"

"What?" Dominic responded in a testy tone.

Maren laughed darkly at Dominic’s reaction and finished his cup of alcohol. He crumpled the cup and tossed it into the trashcan with the skill of a basketball player. "Kathryn Arteme. She’s the one you’re staring at, right?"

Dominic cringed at the idea of Maren catching him watching the pair. He lowered his eyes and trained them on the glass in his hand, swishing around the liquid. He fingers pressed against the stem as he tried to clear his mind of the ghastly image of him with Kat. How could Maren say such a stupid thing? He’d rather submit himself to hours of consolatory talks with Tyrell or pointless conversation with Lucian than ever think of dating Kat. The simple thought made him sick to his stomach. But not as sick as he felt watching Kat lie her head down on Lucian’s chest as the music fell to an even soften beat. He felt an inner growl rise in his throat as he whirled on Maren with livid amethystine eyes.

"No! I have no interest whatsoever in Kathryn!"

"Good ‘cause if you did, I’d have to kick your ass. I already have enough competition with pretty boy there. I’m not looking forward to any more takers," Maren told him in a dangerous voice.

At hearing the slur toward his partner, Dominic felt a seething rage build up inside him. He knew he had called Lucian a pretty boy many times. In fact, he was surprised with himself if he hadn’t managed to get in the crack at least once a day. But the audacity of this other boy to use the slander just set his mind aflame with bitter fury.

"Watch your mouth!" he threatened in a brutal roar, causing Maren to recoil in shock, shaking his cup and splattering the floor with some of the tainted drink.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" he yelled back at the older boy as he checked his shirt to make sure that none of the liquid had spilled on him. "You have a serious attitude problem, Dominic Solanis."

"So they tell me," Dominic sneered.

Maren gave him a puzzled look and then snorted in contempt. "Hah. Even I’m not crazy enough to fight during a school-sponsored dance. That’s automatic suspension in Carthala. Detention is one thing, but I have no wish to make up my exams. That would cut into practice time and as bad as you think you are Dominic, you’re nothing compared to a pissed-off Cyrus."

"Whatever."

The younger boy ignored his retort and returned to watching Kat as he murmured something to Dominic from the corner of his mouth. "So if you’re not checking out Kat, then who are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Lucian spun Kat away from him in a deft dance maneuver, still holding onto her hand but, at the same time, trying to prevent her from settling herself on his chest again. He had no wish to repeat what had happened that afternoon. Dancing with Kathryn was no problem as long as he didn’t have to get too close. She was a much better dancer than he was though, possessing a natural talent for the graceful dips and twirls. Lucian had to admit with a laugh that he was a bit jealous. He had considered his prowess in this area to be fairly decent, but now Kat was putting him to shame on the floor. She was especially suited to the more tawdry dances and seemed to get a kick out of showing off in front of the other guests, moving her hips in a provocative display.

He was having a bit of fun with her since he did so enjoy being the center of attention, which they were certainly attracting from the myriad of on-lookers enticed by their style of dancing. The gawking eyes were a little annoying though, being that they prevented him from getting a good look of Tyrell and Angelique. A few minutes ago, he had seen the pair enjoying a cute slow melody. Their style of dance was a great deal more convention than his and Kat’s. He had noticed something different about Tyrell during the waltz though. Despite the fact that the younger boy seemed to be basking in his companion’s company, he did seem slightly wearied of such slow movement. Well, Tyrell had always struck him as one who liked a little action to spice things up, not too much but just enough to spark others' interest.

At the moment, the mahogany-haired youth appeared to be trying to talk Angelique into engaging in the current music. It was more of a techo-style, making it excellent for dancing to. But Angelique didn’t seem too enthusiastic about attempting to move to a new tempo. She was refusing Tyrell and from his voice, Lucian could tell that Tyrell was getting frustrated. He shouted something to the older girl that made her blush. Then, Angelique shot a frigid look at the other boy and rushed off to the table. Tyrell sighed and plodded after her.

"Lucian!" called a voice from his side, reminding him of the girl he was supposed to be paying attention to at the moment. He redirected his eyes to her as he watched Tyrell pleading with Angelique from the corner of his eye.

"What’s up Kathy?" he asked in a cheerful tone as Kat brought one arm around his shoulders, pulling him a little closer.

"We’re going to lose our audience if you keep looking at my brother every ten seconds," she pointed out as she brushed against his side.

Lucian grinned at her and pushed her to the front, lifting her by her arms. "Then, let’s give them something to watch."

As the girl laughed and started to renew her alluring tapestry of rhythm, the older boy moved around her and acted as the ideal accompaniment to her moves. He spun her around again and allowed her to get close enough to slide up against hip. Having fun gaining the attention of the majority of the dance floor, Lucian shifted his eyes around to view the awed gazes upon them. One particular gaze made him gulp as he danced beside Kat. It was made up of hard amethyst stone that glowed with a feral luminescence. Within moments, he had connected the burning shards of light to their owner, who was currently, running his teeth against the rim of a glass as he intensified that startling leer.

Lucian was worried as he tried to keep his eyes on Kat. Why did his partner look so angry? Dominic looked mad enough to bite right through the glass goblet. Maybe the older boy was just bothered because he was showing more interest in Kat and not enough in their charge. But he couldn’t just ignore her the whole night; that would be rude. He was supposed to be her date. Dominic would just have to understand.

Lost in pondering the mystery of his partner’s wrath, Lucian failed to notice how close Kathryn was getting to him. Her eyes batted with their cloying lashes as she leaned up against him, seeming to forget what had happened the last time that she had tried this. Her soft breath poured upon his face but Lucian was more aware of the way Dominic was losing his hold as his hand began to involuntarily shake. The motion caused some of his drink to slosh against the sides of the goblet, some drops jumping from the glass to dive to the floor. Lucian’s mind was torn away from the image in a flash as he felt limber fingers touch his cheek. He turned his head in surprise only to have a pair of pursed lips meet his own.

His world exploded into violent light. The wretched feeling of hollowness came back with a vengeance sucking him into its dismal void. He tried to push Kat away as his mind roared at the action, forcing him to comply with its demands. It was just like before. He wanted to stop. He wanted to get away, anything to rid him of this powerless pathos. But something inside him refused to abide by his wishes.

Garnet eyes fluttered in defeat, catching the glint of crystal tainted with swirling dark elixir. Suddenly, the glint grew larger as it pitched from its raised position and plummeted to the floor in a spiraling curve, an effulgent spray of undulating light tumbling with it. The pattern of its fall was hypnotic, mesmerizing and drawing the crimson eyes down its path.

CRASH!

Lucian felt Kat jump away from him as a terrified cry rose up from a ways in front of the pair.

"Dominic!"

Whirling to the side, Lucian realized that the scream had come from Maren who seemed to be trying to calm himself as he gaped at the hideous pile of shattered shards and punch littering the ground next to the refreshment table. The broken crystals glistened with a radiant light as tiny droplets of liquid hung from their jagged tips. One of the shimmering pearls rolled down an edge and splashed against the dangerous mess.

Various adults ran to the scene, calling for someone to clean up the glass before anyone got hurt as Maren bolted, nervous about getting caught for tampering with the beverages. The people shouted at Dominic, demanding to know if he was cut anywhere. Dominic didn’t even seem to notice the anxious personnel as Kat and Lucian ran toward him.

As they did, Lucian saw that his partner was glaring at him in strange way. Intrigued, he followed the path of the violet eyes only to discover that their savage daggers weren’t meant for him. They were meant for Kat. What was more, he knew that look. He had seen it thousands of times before. He had seen it whenever Tashira felt that someone was getting too close to him for her liking. He had seen it whenever two girls had fought over which would be the first to talk to him. He had even seen it a few times when Maren looked at him. It was jealousy. Dominic was jealous. No, Dominic wasn’t just jealous. He was jealous of Kathryn. Of Kat and him. What was going on?

Before he could reach the older youth, he was barreled out of the way by a black-haired body. He steadied himself on his feet and looked over at the figure that had just flown by. She flung herself at Dominic and grabbed his hand, flipping it over and checking it for wounds. Lucian could just make out the hysterical words that were rushing from her mouth.

"Oh my god, Dominic! Are you all right? Are you hurt? Did you cut yourself? Dominic, talk to me!" the younger girl implored, staring up at the dark-haired boy with big doe-like eyes.

Dominic sighed and pulled his arm back from her in a gentle motion, much different from the usual jerk that he used whenever anyone else touched him. "I’m fine, Nadia. It just slipped. Besides the fact that I’m probably going to have to pay for that stupid tumbler, I’m okay." He pushed a strand of ebony hair from her face as she drew him away from the pieces of glass left on the floor, allowing one of the adults to scoop it into a dustpan.

"I was so worried when I heard that boy scream your name. I thought that you were hurt," Nadia sniffled, reaching up a hand to pat his shoulder. Dominic jerked his hand away from her hair, backing away and turned his head to the side in an awkward motion. "Dominic?"

"Who are you here with Nadia? Where’s your date?"

"I don’t have one. I came here with my friends. Also....I wanted to see you," the girl confessed at she bit her lip. "I thought that you wouldn’t yell at me if you didn’t know I was around. Tyrell said you were coming with some girl named Rose. I just wanted to have a chance to be able to see you for a little bit. I’m sorry if I upset you, brother."

Brother? Lucian was floored by the title. Dominic had never said he had a sister. Then again, Dominic had never said much of anything about his family or his life for that matter. Well, this girl had to be his partner’s sister. He had never seen Dominic treat anyone with the tenderness that he was showing to her. Although he still carried that withdrawn air, he didn’t project it as much to Nadia. He was being nice to her. Dominic being nice was almost eerie.

"I’m not upset, Nadia. But, I can’t say that I’m not surprised either," Dominic responded in a soft tone.

Nadia raised hopeful eyes to him and began to patter her way over to where he was standing. "So that means you’ll let me spend time with you again?"

Dominic shook his head to her in an all too familiar manner. "No, Nadia. You can’t. I’m sorry. I know you can’t understand, so please just accept this for now. Please do this, for me Nadia," he pleaded as he started to walk away, still not noticing Lucian or Kat.

"Okay," Nadia whispered, turning from her brother.

"Excuse me Kathy. I need to talk with Nicky real quick," Lucian informed his date as he dashed in between the siblings, more than happy to alter the dour mood of this situation. Anyway, he had something very important to discuss with Dominic right now. Kat blinked at his hasty departure and then found herself a table to wait at. No longer paying attention to the blue-eyed girl, Lucian reached out and snatched Dominic by the back of arm. Dominic reacted to the touch immediately, whirling upon the younger boy like an enraged beast. He realized that the person before him was Lucian and his eyes developed a veil of exasperation.

"What do want Ambrose? I don’t want to see you right now," the dark-haired youth lashed out at his partner with his sharp-tongued words.

"That’s too bad Nicky. Because you and me, we need to talk," Lucian insisted, yanking the older boy backward.

"About what?"

"I’ll tell you once we get away from all these people."

Nadia lifted her head and stared at the boy who was trying to force her brother to leave with him. "Dominic, who is that?"

The red-haired boy swiveled his head toward her and gave her a convivial smile. "Hey Nadia. Heard that you were Nicky’s little sister. My name’s Lucian Ambrose. And your brother has been shacking with me and my twin sister for the last few weeks."

"Idiot! Don’t tell her that!" hissed Dominic, punching Lucian in the shoulder.

"Hey, that didn’t hurt that much. Are we getting soft, Nicky?" Lucian laughed as he moved his arm to the left to avoid getting hit again.

Dominic swore at him and tried to pull his arm out of Lucian’s hold. "Don’t push me, Ambrose. I am not in the mood for your masochistic games at the moment. Now, you shut up before I hit you for real!"

"I’m shocked! You would hit the guy that you were watching so intently moments ago?" The younger boy’s words left Dominic speechless as he tore his face from Lucian’s view. Lucian sniggered and added, "Maybe now, you’re willing to talk."

"You’ve been staying with this boy, Dominic?" Nadia interrupted, tapping her brother on the shoulder. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

The oldest youth clenched his teeth and growled out. "Because I didn’t want you to come looking for me. Airhead Ambrose doesn’t seem to understand that."

"Where are you two going?" the girl inquired as Lucian began to drag Dominic off.

"We need to have a friendly little guy talk. Maybe we’ll see you later, Nadia. I wish I could talk some more but this is rather important," Lucian responded as he raised his eyes to Dominic. "Very important." Dominic shot him a piqued glance as he reluctantly allowed Lucian to take him out of the ballroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Dominic paced along the balcony of the ballroom, growing agitated that Lucian hadn’t yet told him what he dragged him out here for. He had been glad to be given an excuse to leave Nadia without having to force her away as usual, but he didn’t trust his partner’s intent. Maybe Lucian had picked up on something that he hadn’t during the dance.

"What’s wrong, Ambrose? Is something going on with Tyrell? Or his sister?" Dominic asked, forcing the last phrase through his teeth.

Lucian leaned against the railing, pressing his hands against the slender wooden backing as he looked over at the older boy. His eyes had a calculating gleam to them. "Well, you could say it has something to do with Kathy?"

"What’s wrong with Kathryn? Does she know something about the Chimera?"

"This has nothing to do with the Chimera," Lucian said in a grim voice.

The older boy smacked his hand against the wall of the balcony. What game was Lucian playing now? They didn’t have time for this. They were supposed to be looking out for any sign that the Chimera planned on attacking tonight. Standing around and talking was putting the Keys in a vulnerable position. Lucian was endangering his charges with this pointless scheme.

"Then what the hell did you bring me out here for?" Dominic snapped as the redhead gazed at him with searing crimson eyes.

"Are you jealous of Kathy?" he questioned as Dominic looked at him with disdain.

"What?"

"Maybe I should correct my question. Are you jealous of me and Kathy?"

"That’s stupid! You pulled me out here to interrogate me on something so shallow as this, Ambrose. I ought to leave right now."

Dominic’s reaction seemed to be all the proof that Lucian needed. He rolled his eyes and put his hand to his forehead, wiping it over his hair. "I can’t believe this. You really are jealous. Of Kathy for crying out loud. What’s your deal?"

The dark-haired youth was getting seriously irked with this conversation. Where did his partner get off accusing him of such nonsense? He wasn’t jealous of Kat. Okay, so that kiss had been a little much for him to take but it wasn’t because he was jealous. He was just annoyed with the way she was keeping him from talking to his partner for the majority of the night. She was just a hindrance, in more ways than one.

"This is the dumbest thing that I have ever been subjected to in all of my life. I refuse to listen to this bullshit for a second more," he announced as he made his way for the door. "You must have been downing some of the punch. Maren spiked it, you know."

Lucian leapt to his feet and jumped in front of Dominic, blocking his exit. "Screw the damn punch! I want you to tell me right now why you seem to care so much about what I do with Kathy? Are you just way too possessive? Or is it something else, like you having some odd attraction to me? Because if you want my opinion, I think it’s the latter."

Dominic gave him a malevolent sneer as he moved a hand to push Lucian out of his path. "And what would you do if it was?"

The younger boy was struck mute as his eyes widened in absolute shock. His partner threw back his head in victory and shoved him aside, making an attempt to reenter the ballroom. As he tried to move back, an unknown hand slapped him. He winced and turned to see the person who had attacked him. Erik was glowering at him and crushing her fist into her palm.

"What is wrong with you Solanis? Are you trying to draw attention to yourself? First by breaking that glass. And now, you’re out here trying to start a fight with Ambrose?" she accused him as Dominic focused on counting to ten in his mind so he didn’t feel the urge to retaliate to the blond’s actions.

"Don’t hit him, Erik! Dominic, what happened back there?" shouted another voice from behind Erik as Tyrell appeared behind her, looking around the group with an anxious expression. He pushed past Erik and hurried over to see his other Guardians. The youngest boy studied the blank expression gracing Lucian’s face and the fierce visage of Dominic. "What’s going on?"

Dominic waited for Lucian to give him a spiteful response but his partner remained silent, watching him with wavering eyes. Erik tapped her fingers against the back wall, also anticipating an answer to Tyrell’s question. Tyrell just kept switching his eyes from each of the older youths, looking totally dumbfounded the whole time. In the midst of the tension, Lucian’s head jerked to the side, his posture turning stiff and defensive.

"Something’s wrong," he warned as he ran over to the ballroom and looked inside. It was completely empty. "What’s going on?"

Erik turned around to investigate the circumstances for herself as her chestnut eyes darkened at the sight of the open room. "I’m betting on another illusion. You see, my information about the Chimera attacking tonight was correct. I doubt you boys will doubt me after this," she gloated in an almost base tenor.

Dominic stepped back, yanking his topaz amulet out from his suit and creating his fiery Aurora in his hand. "This is brilliant. They attack and we’re all isolated from the rest of the group. We’ve been lead into a damn trap!"

"That’s right, Sun Guardian!" declared a cocky voice as the youths spun around to see Lionelle leaping down from the third story of the building. "And it was so easy. You children are much easier to manipulate than I thought."

"What did you have to do with this?" demanded Lucian as he brought forth Hades, his own weapon of dancing hellfire. "How could you have managed to get all of us out here at once?"

Lionelle chuckled and flashed his whip, bringing it down on the ground with a ominous crack. "Now, you’ll just have to figure out that one on your own, boy. That is if you survive that long."

"Hah! What can you do up here? You have nowhere to go," puffed Dominic as he shot his eyes toward Tyrell who still hadn’t summoned his sword yet. The youngest boy seemed to be stroking the chain of his cross hesitantly, but he refused to bring it out. What was he doing? Didn’t he understand that they needed his help?

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tyrell stared at the villainous man before him, knowing that he should call forth the Divinity. It was already burning against his skin as it had always done whenever he faced off with the Chimera. He tried to ignore the aching heat as he reminded himself why he couldn’t use Divinity now. Divinity was actually the transformation of the Cruce. The thought forced a numbing fear through his entire form. What if he lost it again during battle? He had been stripped of his sword often enough and now that he knew that it was the relic that all these people were searching for, he didn’t want to chance another accident like that.

His eyes darted across the area, catching the furious light of Dominic’s as they screamed at him to fight. Dominic didn’t understand. He couldn’t fight. Even now that he knew how he could overcome his opponents. He couldn’t risk losing the Cruce. What if the Chimera decided to pick it up to taunt him? They would know what it was once they touched its onyx surface. Then, all of his friends could be in danger. He would just have to devise another method of getting out of this without involving the use of the Divinity.

He tried to think of a new strategy as Lionelle smirked at Dominic and raised his hand above his head. "Oh I wouldn’t say that, Sun Guardian. Besides nobody ever said that it was us who are going to be going anywhere," he stated in a foreboding tone. Dominic reared back Aurora and backed against the railing as Lionelle snapped his fingers in the air. Before anyone could move, a large red wolf materialized from the ballroom entrance and leaped into Dominic as the golden-haired man gloated. "It’s you who are going to be leaving."

The force of the impact pitched both boy and beast over the railing and onto the distant ground as Tyrell watched helplessly.

"NICKY!" he heard Lucian’s frantic howl as Dominic slammed against the grass with a dull thump and remained motionless, blood pouring from the side of his head. The red-pelted she-wolf, Lupe, licked his wound in a pretend motherly fashion before turning back to the group and rolling her pink tongue in a sadistic laugh.

"You son of a bitch!" the Hell Guardian roared, whipping his sword back and sending a searing wave of fire at the triumphant Lionelle.

Lionelle leapt from the flames and brought down his whip in a straight line of bright yellow light that coursed toward Lucian and bore him to the ground. Lucian yelled in pain and toppled to the floor, clutching his side. The golden-eyed Chimera laughed and smiled at Tyrell as the boy stared at him in abject despair. "Now, Key, if you want to prevent any more of your precious Guardians from dying, you’ll tell me where the Cruce is."

"Go to hell!" wailed Tyrell, hardly able to stand the intense scalding weight of the cross on his chest anymore as Lionelle attempted to get closer to him. He couldn’t use it. He couldn’t. It was too dangerous. But after what this monster had just done to Dominic, he was finding it was becoming harder to stick to his course. What if Lionelle tried to hurt another one of his friends? He recalled what Erik had told him about how the Guardians only fought because they had no other choice. They were destined to protect him. What had happened to Dominic was because of him. If the others died because he was too chicken to fight, it would be all his fault.

Trembling, he reached for the flaring item underneath his shirt. As he did, Lupe performed a stunning leap back to the top of the balcony, Dominic’s blood stained her muzzle and her eyes shone with bloodlust. Tyrell reached out to her with his mind, searching for her next plan of attack. What he found sent a freezing chill down him. Unlike Lionelle who preferred causing pain to killing his victims, Lupe relished the glory of the kill. It was what she lived for. She had not intention to interrogate him; she wanted to tear out his throat. All she was waiting for was a signal from Lionelle to attack. Apparently, even though she thought herself to be more talented than Lionelle, she was forced to subject herself to his leadership. Their employer had insisted on this much.

A sharp blast caused Lupe to yelp and turn from him as a bullet tore through her flesh. Tyrell slowly shifted his eyes to see Erik kneeling on the ground, her beloved gun in her fingers as she cocked the trigger to fire again. Her expression was that of a sharpshooter lining up his next target for the kill. The flash of the gun startled the green-eyed boy. Had Erik had the weapon on her throughout the dance? Where was she keeping it? He looked down to realize that the blond had ripped a slit in her dress, probably with the aid of her hair comb, displaying the gun holster that was wound around her lower thigh. Erik was really prepared for this sort of thing.

Lionelle took advantage of Tyrell’s distraction and lashed out his whip, curling it around his ankle. Tyrell gave a tiny cry as the older man yanked him toward him. His cry drew Erik’s attention from her target as she turned her head to check on him, allowing Lupe ample time for an attack. The she-wolf lunged at Erik with bared fangs as Erik tried to bring her weapon back into firing range. But the wolf’s jaws closed on her gun before she could shoot, tearing it from her grasp and tossing it behind the Chimera’s back.

Tyrell saw that the Earth Guardian was trapped by the animal and cursed at himself for yelling. He didn’t have much time for self-loathing though as Lionelle reached out and grabbed the inside of his jacket, his hand brushing against the side of the cross’s chain. Tyrell panicked and tried to fight against the Chimera as Lionelle’s fingers tangled in his necklace, wrenching him from the ground.

A hail of fire rained down on him as Tyrell jerked his head up to see the Hell Guardian holding his sword into the air. His eyes had become vibrant embers of dark red light. But the crimson hues were mixed with a more humble brown. The way he stood was not Lucian’s casual stance but that off a highbred noble lofting Hades far above him. Swirling helixes of fire ran up and down the blade as he brought it down, launching a much more powerful spell at Lionelle. The hex split into two halves, one racing toward the golden-haired Chimera as the other turned and charged at the monstrous beast struggling with the Earth Guardian.

The attacks met their targets. Lionelle hissed in pain and threw the Key to the side, trying to protect himself with an arc of flame from his whip. The other blow struck Lupe, forcing her from Erik and crashing her into the railing with such power that that the backing broke under her impact. As the splinters of wood tumbled to the ground, the she-wolf had to fight to claw for a hold on the edge. Her muscled legs kicking against the side as she worked to propel herself forward, snarling in rage.

Before Erik could reach her gun, the red-haired youth swept it from the floor and whirled it upon Lionelle, who was still suffering from the earlier attack. His eyes seemed devoid of all emotion as he pulled back the trigger. Lionelle still tried to produce a fire wall as Lucian approached him, resting the gun against his fingers. The Hell Guardian swung Hades in his other hand, spraying Lionelle with another gush of transparent red flames. Lionelle collapsed due to the pressure of the attack, falling to his knees as Lucian loomed over him, training his gun at his jugular.

Though Tyrell was relieved, he was also shocked beyond belief. He had never seen Lucian act like this. His movements, though beautifully fluid and smooth, were deliberate and cruel. He lacked the playful gait that the Key had grown accustomed to seeing Lucian use. Even his eyes were different. Not only were they glazed with a creamy brown, but they also bore a much more fatalistic look to them. He didn’t look like himself at all. He looked more like Dominic whenever the Sun Guardian was in fighting mode. Who was this boy that he saw before him now?

Lucian lowered his jaded eyes to Lionelle and brought up his blade to his throat. "I’m afraid that we win this one, Chimera. May your demise serve as a warning to the rest of your kind. The Keys are not to be threatened anymore," he spoke in an apathetic tone as Lionelle’s golden eyes flashed with humiliation.

Before the red-haired Guardian could sink his sword into the Chimera’s throat, there was another wash of black light. Fang dashed out and grabbed his brother, a ebony ring covering one of his fingers. Lucian snarled at the sight of his quarry escaping and lunged at the pair of assassins. He was knocked off course by the leaping body of Lupe as she landed beside the orange-haired Fang. The youngest Chimera looked at his companions and gave a harsh snicker.

"I guess you guys need me after all. Maybe you won’t knock my abilities still ready next time. Come on, this fight is finished for tonight. The boss lent me his ring to get your bumbling selves out of this mess. He says he has a better plan for finding the Cruce," he informed the rest as he twisted the ring on his finger, causing the dark mist around him to envelop the Chimera.

As the group disappeared, Lionelle’s burning yellow eyes broke through the blackness and set on the fuming Lucian who was unable to reach him. "You pathetic brat! You’re going to pay for this, I swear. Vincient is going to take out your precious Keys soon enough. And then your worthless Guardian comrades will fall before him as well. Maybe he’ll even be kind enough to save you for me," the leader of the Chimera spat as the trio vanished into nothing.

The second the Chimera was gone, Lucian dropped to the floor, his hands releasing his weapons to the ground as his breathing became ragged. "Vincient," he whispered as he reached up his fingers and gnarled them in his silky mane. Tyrell scampered to his feet and rushed over to the Hell Guardian, kneeling down beside him with worried emerald-gray eyes.

"Lucian, what’s wrong?" he begged as Lucian stared right past him, a tremor racing through his skin.

"He can’t be alive! He can’t!" the Hell Guardian raged, jerking his head from side to side as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Lucian! Stop!" Tyrell whimpered, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him a bit.

What was Lucian talking about? He had said that name, the same name that he had heard in his dreams so many times. Vincient. That was the man who had imprisoned Tavores. He was the one who had attacked Danae for the Cruce. Was this the same man who led the Chimera in their pursuit against him? But how? In his dream, he had seen Danae trap Vincient in that magic force field. If it was the same person, then how had he escaped? Another more pressing question dealt with how is was that Lucian even knew him. Lucian had never mentioned the name around him. He was sure that if Lucian knew the identity of the man who lead the Chimera, he would have told him. What was Lucian’s connection to Vincient?

He continued to try and bring the redhead from his frenzy as he saw Erik pick up her gun from the floor and place it back in her holster. She looked down at the desolate Lucian with scorn. "You are truly pathetic, Hell Guardian. Don’t you even care that your partner could be dying below us as you sit there crying?" she reproached him. Tyrell nudged her away as the memory of Dominic’s fall reentered his mind.

What if Erik was right? What if Dominic was in danger of dying? He had fallen pretty far and hadn’t moved throughout the entire fight. They had to get him help right away. It was critical that Lucian recover from this strange state as soon as possible.

He shook the older boy harder and shrieked at him as loud as he could manage. "Lucian! Listen to me! You have to stop this! We have to help Dominic! He’s hurt!"

At the sound of the Sun Guardian’s name, Lucian’s spine bowed as he let out an anguished cry, head flying back. Then, just as quickly, he lifted it back up with a new clarity in his sparkling garnet eyes. He stared at Tyrell as confusion swept over his face. Then he gripped the Key’s shoulders and barked an order to him in a husky voice, "Get Shira! The illusion is gone now and the guests are still at the dance."

"But....but Lucian, what about Dominic?" Tyrell sputtered as he moved to obey the older boy’s commands.

"Yes," supplied Erik as she collected herself and prepared to take a separate door that lead out of the building. "Aren’t you going to do something about Solanis? He could be in bad condition. That fall looked nasty."

"I’ll take care of Nicky. Now get going," Lucian urged as he ran in front of Erik through the exit door.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tashira raced out to her brother who was trying to wake his partner with desperate pleas. He was kneeling next to the dark-haired boy, trying futilely to ignore the blood that was coursing from Dominic’s head. Dominic’s body was crumpled with his legs folded beneath him, as his head rested against the cool grass. He looked lifeless against the piercing lights that flowed from within the building onto the green fields. The younger boy pushed the disturbing thought from his brain as he continued to talk to Dominic.

Lucian knew that other people would be discovering the broken railing soon enough and would be coming out here to find him with the unconscious youth. Lucian knew that he had to get Dominic out of here now. It would not do to have thousands of people questioning him about the older boy’s fall.

He grabbed Dominic by his shirt and screamed into his face. "Damn it Nicky! Open your eyes! We need to get out of here! Wake up! Please! Wake up!"

His silver-haired sister touched his shoulder and shook her head dolefully. "He looks like he’s badly hurt, Luce. There’s so much blood."

"Shut up! Help me get him up so we can take him home," Lucian growled at her as he tried to lift Dominic off the ground.

"Lucian! You can’t possibly be thinking you’re going to heal him. This isn’t an ugly bruise or a broken bone. We’re dealing with some serious damage here," she gasped as she started to move forward to aid her twin.

"I said stop saying that! I’ve fallen from worse heights before. I know I can help him! Now give me a hand!"

Tashira seemed hurt by the anger in her brother’s tone but she still helped him raise Dominic from the ground. Lucian’s head was swimming with a combination of emotions. He didn’t know how Tyrell had managed to get rid of the Chimera or why he had been sobbing on his knees when he came to. None of that mattered now. The important thing was to get Dominic back to the house so he could take care of his injuries and see how severe they were. He wasn’t about to let Dominic die on him this easily. They were finally starting to make some progress.

"Nicky, you better hold on! You’re a Guardian and there’s no way I’m going to let my partner check out on me now!" he promised the unresponsive youth as he leaned his head into Dominic’s bloodstained hair.

*~*~*~*~*~*