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Well, welcome to another installment of the Children of Eryth! As always, helpful comments and criticism are always appreciated. All characters belong to me. Hope you enjoy.

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In a moment, my brother and I knew that trouble would await our future. It all began with a few words. It would bind the fates of my brother, the speaker, and I, as we fought an evil as old as time.

"Well, you see, I'm a Hunter from the Children of Eryth, and I've been asked aid you."

The words, said by Riley, a tiger I had just a few minutes ago kissed, brought a flood of memories. I was trying to take everything in, but I felt a sharp pain on my hand. Distracted, I looked down to find my older brother's massive hand there, having taken a strong grip subconsciously. Darryl was tentatively pulling my hand, looking unsure of whether to run or fight. "So it was true..." I muttered self-consciously.

Riley looked at me, his attention to my every word. Unable to hear my muttering, he asked "What was that?"

I felt my brother squeeze my hand again...hard. Yelping in pain, I yanked my hand. "Darryl, you're hurting me!" I cried. He would probably perk Riley's curiosity to this because of that move. Darryl must have realized this, because he looked at me apologetically and eased his grip. I guess he didn't want me to say anything about the incident. I was a bit bothered, but decided to listen to my older brother this time. Rather than let the moment devolve into awkward silence, I smiled warmly and took Riley by the hand. "Riley, it's not that I'm trying to change the topic, but the bell is about to ring. Would you mind if we continued this later?" I asked.

"Okay, I guess that's fine." Riley paused to bring out his schedule out of his pocket. "I have Ms. Perkins in room 309 next, what about you?"

I was surprised, but didn't let it spread to my face. I was slightly perturbed by the fact that we now shared two classes. I choose to use my previous tactic and flanked the topic. "Wow, we share two classes now! Can I see your schedule?" I asked innocently. Riley handed me his schedule and I quickly skimmed over the classes for something that I was expecting. "We share all classes..." I said, more stunned than excited. The coincidence was too much for me to tolerate; the Children had pulled strings to arrange this. I was suddenly disgusted with Riley's presence. I liked the guy so much, and yet, I couldn't help but feel suspicious that he was investigating me.

Beaming, Riley smiled again (now seeming like he smiled too much) and said "Isn't that great?"

I nodded and turned to Darryl. "I'm not feeling so good, mind taking me to the nurse?" I said, feeling nauseous.

Riley frowned, worried by my sudden nausea. I told him I'd meet him later in the class and to not worry. Soon after, the bell rang, and Riley departed. As we walked to nurse I suddenly turned to Darryl and spoke my concerns. "Darryl, I have two things to tell you. I think Riley was sent by the Children to watch me! ...And I kissed the guy. I kissed him! I don't know what to feel anymore!" I said yanking my hair.

"Whoa, calm down there, Little Prince, I just met the guy, and I'm sure there's more to this guy than just being a watcher. He's risking getting in trouble by kissing you. I agree with you; the Children have some hand in this. It might just a reaction to our incident though. I just don't want that incident to be poked into too much. That Zanados and his prophecy will cause trouble for us, I know! Besides, I'd kill the guy if he hurt you, in any way." Darryl said mischievously. Patting my head he opened a door to my right and pushed me into the nurse's office. "I gotta rush to class now, bye little bro!" And just like that, I saw my brother sprint across the campus to his class.

Taking a seat, I watched as Mr. Deirey finished taking care of a student, and then turned to me. "Locke, another one of those headaches?" he asked, his face full of worry. The nurse was an old fox, probably a few years from what should have been retirement. Nobody seemed to mind his age though; probably because of his kind demeanor. He seemed like those types that lived for their work. His fur had started to lose its bright orange-red sheen, and tufts could be seen to have started fading into silvery wisps. "You've been having them ever since that incident." I raised my finger to my lips, pointing to the other student. He merely chuckled at my caution, and waved his hand in front of his face, as if my worry was a cloud of smoke. The old fox was one of our favor-movers in the school, sort of a helper to the members of the Children of Eryth. "I guess you've found out about that boy by now." The old fox whispered; a strange wisdom visible in his eyes. I nodded quietly. "I've met him before, he's a good child. Don't worry so much, he's not here to cause trouble." Still seeing my troubled face, he merely tutted at me and let me lay down for a bit.

I closed my eyes and let the memories of bells wash over me. The words of the beast played over and over in my head. Only now was I able to recall everything after its first words: the alternate screeching voice, the blood, and...the power. I had wanted to tell brother about this, but in my panic over Riley, I had never gotten to it. I was pretty sure I knew what that power was now: It was my S-Ray. I had never before activated the thing, but I was sure now. Power like that could only come from an S-Ray. No being could summon orbs of light that exploded like that. And even if such a being could do that, it had killed the Zanados. A visit to the Children was probably needed at this point. Only the Department of Weapon Knowledge could help me here. I nodded to myself and sat up. I definitely felt better now that I'd cleared my head.

"Deirey, thanks for letting me rest a bit, I'll head to class now." I said, picking up my bag. Mr. Deirey simply smiled and nodded, handing me my pass back to class.

As I entered the class, I was sort off relieved to see that Ms. Perkins had assigned Riley a seat away from mine. He nodded at me and pretty much stayed silent for the rest of the class. I played with my pencil as I listened to the lecture the teacher gave, but my mind wasn't there. I had begun thinking about the several departments within the Children of Eryth. As far as I could remember, the Children were composed of five departments: the Department of Enemy Knowledge, the Department of Weapon Knowledge, the Department of Enemy Response, the Department of Hunter Advancement, and the Department of Societal Response and Movement. Each department divided in several subsections, but specialized in a certain research or worked to accomplish special tasks. Enemy Knowledge researched Zanados in general, such as how they acted, and what was their purpose. Weapon Knowledge researched S-Rays. It was a minor department, but still had great purpose. The other departments worked in conjunction with each other. Enemy Response helped mobilized Hunters to hunt and destroy Zanados. Hunter Advancement supplied us many things, like my tracker watch, and other gadgets to make our job easier. The Department of Societal Response and Movement was more secretive than all other Departments, considering they were like the CIA. Their work involved protecting civilians, and helped provide us with favor-movers. In conjunction, they provided a network for us Hunters to do our work with little problems. I would report myself with the Weapon's Knowledge department as soon as possible, it was necessary so that they could investigate my S-Ray.

My thoughts were distracted as I heard the class bell ring. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and looked back to see Riley there. "Class is over, bud." Riley said, laughing. I had been so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't even realized that the lecture had been over for a few minutes now. I looked up at where Ms. Perkins usually wrote down the homework and took note. I laughed a bit at my absentmindedness and got my things. Riley still made me a bit uneasy, but every time I looked at him, my thoughts floated back to our kiss. I blushed inwardly at my happiness.

I felt my hand grasped by Riley and felt him pull me out, running. I was surprised by the tiger's speed and had to run as fast as I could to keep up. "Come on!" he happily urged. As we crossed the street I heard angry honking as we ran across the streets. I was scared, but the rush so much fun. Letting go of his hand, I finally built enough momentum to ran just as fast as he did. We ran straight down the hill, off of the side walk on the street dodging to the side when a car past by. As the decline of the hill built up, our feet could be heard stomping as we tried to keep control of ourselves, with our laugh audible to all students down the hill. Not far, I spotted brother with a look of worry on his eyes, but slightly grinning at how much fun I was having. I had been laughing so hard I failed to notice a car coming from my side. Next thing I knew, I found myself between Riley's arms and I heard the car screeching far behind us. It was weird to be held so tightly, but I felt so...safe. Riley had a focused look on his face, but looked down, worried. "Are you okay?" he asked. I couldn't understand what had just happened.

I found myself unable to speak. Did I just almost get hit by a car? I had little time to gather my thoughts as brother appeared next to us, and seeing his worried look on his face made the reality of the moment come crashing down. The car behind us honked angrily as the driver yelled some choice words at Riley and me before continuing on it's route. Riley set me down, and looked away, ashamed at the incident he had almost caused. "Never again..." I heard Riley say, downcast. I was still dazed when I felt another brother pick me up in a tight hug.

"Stupid! We didn't you just use the usual route!" Darryl said angrily. He seemed very shaken.

"...I'm so-" I tried to apologize, but was interrupted.

"It's my fault!" Riley said suddenly. "I shouldn't have placed Locke in danger like that. I'm sorry Darryl, won't happen again." Riley said, looking on the verge of kneeling down to apologize.

For a second, I expect Darryl to snap at Riley, but an unseen acknowledgement flashed in my brother's eyes, and he just nodded. "It's all right as long as no harm was done. Please...just be careful of my little brother." I thought that all that was needed to have been said was said, but a flash of anger returned to Darryl's eyes. "I'll tell you now...if something happens to my little brother, I'll find you and make you pay. If you're here to help us, then you're responsible with the safety of Locke." his anger finally flushed out and we all just stood there for a little while. Finally, Darryl motioned for us to go, and the tension in the air shattered, allowing us to move from our stasis.

We had been walking for a while, when I realized there was something I had forgotten to tell Darryl. "Brother! I had almost forgotten..." I said, sighing at my absentmindedness.

"What's up?" Darryl asked. Riley looked up.

"I guess you should listen to this as well Riley. You'll need to catch up to speed though. Brother, I'm going to tell him about the prophesy." Darryl seemed unsure. "I trust him. It needs to be done if he's going to help us."

Riley seemed to sense the seriousness of the conversation. "What's this all about?" Riley asked.

I took a deep breath. "This is gonna take a while. It's sort off a long story..." I then began to tell Riley of the incident in its entirety. Riley had been aware of our incident, but had been given no details as to what had happened. After I had gotten to the part about using my S-Ray, I paused. "Now that you've been filled in, I have to tell you both about something. That explosion...I caused it to happen."

Brother nodded as if he understood, but then said "So what? I can summon a sword from thin air, and fight monsters visible to select few. What's so weird about making an explosion?"

I sighed in frustration. "Don't you get it Darryl? That was my S-Ray. I happened so fast that we never truly saw it well, but my S-Ra is...this." I held my hand out, but paused. Not here, I thought. I looked around for someplace to trigger the S-Ray. A quick look around showed me that we were in sight of our house. "Let's go inside first." Both of them seemed upset at the unintentional dramatic build. When we arrived home, Darryl practically broke down the door and I was dragged inside by Riley. Once inside both of them looked at me expectantly. I once again raised my hand, while cupping my palm and let myself focus on the memory of the battle, the emotions I felt. A small red orb producing heat and light began forming and before I knew it, the orb had grown to the size of an orange. "That's it," I said.

Both of them looked confused. Riley voiced the thought we were all thinking. "Where is it's form? Isn't it supposed to something like a weapon?"

"I dunno. It's only my second summon. I'm sure there is more to it though. That's why I need to have my power examined in the Weapon Knowledge department." I said calmly. In a strange and sudden motion, my stomach dropped. I gulped a bit, and nodded to the two.

"Zanados. What inopportune timing. Alright, got any gear I can borrow? I didn't think I would need any of my battle gear. All I've got is my regulation sigil clothing." Riley said.

"You should be fine. Locke and me don't usually us much armor. It's slows us down too much." Darryl said. As we begun changing, I felt largely embarrassed having Riley change near us. I had always been used to seeing my brother half-naked, but having Riley take his shirt off almost floored me. I couldn't help but stare at Riley's body. Only now did I noticed that his stripes weren't bright orange as I was common in tigers, but more like a brown orange, a color that reminded me of crisp maple leaves. I felt the strange urge touch Riley's chest when I suddenly felt my brother's heavy hand bop the back of my head, bringing back to reality. Riley had obviously caught me staring and blushed slightly while grinning, looking proud of how his body had caught my attention so much. I had to rush with my clothing, and stared at the results.

I admired the design on Riley's regulation sigil clothing. It was funny because a lot of new favor-movers found the regulation sigil clothing less uniform than what would be expected. The only thing uniform about our regulation clothing was it's sigil: the Mark of Eryth. It was a picture of target with two red lines forming a cross, with the end of each line ending in the center of a small circle. As long as we had this symbol on some part of our bodies, it could considered regulation sigil clothing. I usually wore a black bomber jacket that had the insignia displayed on my shoulder. Darryl had a sleeveless vest that showed the insignia on his broad back. I rarely got to see other hunters' regulation clothing and I was sort off excited to get to see Riley's. Riley regulation clothing was a black t-shirt with three white, circular bands at the end of each sleeve. In the center of his shirt, the Mark of Eryth was displayed. The Mark of Eryth looked like any other symbol, something that would easily blend in the crowd, because it was supposed too. It was only supposed to stick out to members of the Children. That's why is was imperative that we wore it when we were going about Hunter business, we wouldn't be recognized otherwise.

"Riley, little prince, are you ready?" Darryl asked. We both nodded and headed out the door. I pulled out the blue pocket watch and activated the seeker application. An overhead view of the area was displayed and a red star marked the location of the Zanados.

"It's pretty close. About three blocks from here, in a residential area. We might need to call the Department of Society Response and Movement...ugh." I said. The DSRM was a pain to deal with. I mean, they did a god job of helping us, but afterwards, we would have to deal with a LOT of paperwork.

"I'll take paperwork over affected people, any day." Riley concluded.

We quickly arrived at the scene where the Zanados was at. It was relatively calm, which was a good sign. Despite this, we were being as careful as possible, as we knew things didn't usually go this smooth. The beast was in the front of a quiet house, and we were thankful that this part of the neighborhood was quite lonely.

Darryl turned to me and said, "Locke, I know you can activate your S-Ray now, but still, I don't want you to fight unless it's absolutely necessary. Remember that fighting with a weapon you don't know how to use can be even worse than fighting without a weapon. Stay as back-up in case I need it." I sighed, disappointed that I wouldn't get to use my S-Ray.

Riley patted my back understandingly. "That sorta sucks, but your brother's right. Besides, I wouldn't want you to get hurt." I nodded to Riley, although it wasn't the happiest of nods. Grasping my neck, he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before he walked forward as well.

Having someone as back-up was important for Hunters. As back-up, my job was to survive. We were to assist with retreat if possible, but our main duty was to survive to give the details of the fight. This mission was vital, because if we failed, someone would need to give as much information to the next Hunter dispatched. It was also the most hated job, as it basically demoted you to being a bench warmer. Rather than to complain, I decided to devote myself to this. It wasn't the first time I'd had to stand behind as back-up.

The beast was feral, not having the familiar pose of an anthro. I sighed inwardly; these were always a pain to deal with. It was covered in pure white fur, with piercing, blue, bloodshot eyes. Its white fur caused a strange sensation within me, as if this beast could had been pure at some time. A quick look at the Zanados's paws revealed large blades sticking out from where its claws should have been. On its four paws, it reached my up to my chest. I guessed that it could easily outstrip me in height, would it be able to stand on two legs. It had two long tails that flowed out with black tips that reminded me of a paintbrush. Down on all fours, I stared at its face and realized that it looked largely canine, like a cross between a wolf and fox. Its muzzle was curled up, revealing sharp fangs that showed it was no longer calm. Like an angry feral dog, it raised its hindquarters and bared its teeth at us, growling savagely.

"Get ready, Riley." Darryl said calmly. Upon saying this, Darryl summoned his S-Ray, a scene quite familiar to me. Again, brother raised his right arm high into the air, and a familiar light appeared on his chest. Its bright sheen spread in the form of red runes all over brother's body and once again, his pale red broadsword was produced. "This is my blade, Riley, Red Dahlia. While you two meet only in sight, this Zanados will become acquainted with Dahlia quite physically."

Riley grinned at Darryl. "Jeez dude, tone it down a notch. We can save the poetics for later." He paused for a second and rubbed his forehead as if in thought and then said, "I guess now that Red Dahlia is out, it should be time to introduce my S-Ray as well." Riley raised his left hand and twirled it twice. It was easy to see in the lazy twilight; a small blue circle. It floated in front of Riley and from the inside of the circle burst out a thin and long object. It spun twice in the air before Riley swiped his right hand and caught it: a sword in an ornate blue scabbard. Riley flicked the guard of the blade in the sheath and pulled out the blade. It was a curved katana; its sharp edge looking like it could cut whatever it touched to ribbons. Small blue runes glowed on the back of Riley's fists and with a swirl; Riley attached the sheath to his waist and held the katana with both hands. "This is Blue Crescent, my S-Ray. Pretty sick, huh?" he said with a proud gleam in his eye.

"Oh stop showing off, both of you. You have a crazy beast to beat and you're here trying to sh-OHCRAP!" I never got to finish what I wanted to say. In a quick motion, the beast lunged between brother and Riley and made a dash for me. Quickly rolling left, I heard and felt the paw slice at the location I had just been in, with a swish given by the cut air. It seemed like it was after me. Great. I watched it as it spun and tried to lunge at me again, but this time Riley and Darryl had been prepared. With great speed, Darryl punted the beast and I heard its pained cry. Before it had time to recover, Riley's katana sliced through the Zanados's side, and the beast gave a surprised yelp. It was interesting to see the black gunk that oozed out of the wound, like thick ink. I was surprised to hear the sounds of bells.

"You are a threat! The pieces have gathered and they won't stand for it!" a voice said. We were all stunned to have a Zanados speak to us again. The voice resembled the previous Zanados, but it had lost its hypnotic melody. It no longer reminded me of serene sound of bells in the wind, instead, it was like a harsh scream, with bells lost in the voice.

"I'm guessing they usually speak to you two?" Riley said nervously. It looked like speaking to us was all that he could do to keep his nerves steady.

"Seems like it, it's the second time they've spoken to us. Let's finish this before we get caught off guard! Miros Serrata!" Darryl raised his broadsword and Riley and I watched the sword become enveloped in light. We watched it begin to change, become thinner, defined. The blade's edges become serrated. Flicking the blade, the shimmering sword turned back to normal, becoming a deeper shade of crimson. Brother roared and yelled "Show your teeth, Dahlia!" With less weight to worry about, brother gained velocity. He savagely slashed at the beast with unseen speed. Thick, black blood began to fly about everywhere, as the serrated blade began to carve the beast, its cries of pain like a shrieking ghoul. With a final and swift blow, I watched as Darryl's sword sliced deep into the flesh of the Zanados, ripping it into a mass of flesh and muscle. The beautiful white fur became stained with thick, black gobs of blood; one of its front legs ravaged by brother's cruel blade. It dangled from bits of sinew, and it was obvious that it would never again be used. The spree of slashing ended and brother backed away with a swift back step. Despite its heavy injuries, the beast lived. "Riley...GO!" brother cried.

Riley dashed in as well, flanking the beast's side with his katana. The beast fought back, this time prepared for the onslaught. It parried Riley's blade it with a swift smack from its tail, and countered Riley's attack with a swift blow from its other tail. Caught unawares, Riley was flung back several feet, landing with a painful sounding thud. Riley stood up and made a strange wheezing noise. His face was scrunched up, as if in shock, and he made the strange wheeze again. He'd lost his breath from the blow! "Darryl, cover Riley while he gets his breath back!" I yelled.

"You'd think it wouldn't happen to someone who's been battle hardened from fighting these things!" Darryl said as he swiped his blade at the lunging beast. It recoiled in fear of getting cut again, and growled in anger.

Riley stood up and gave a thumps sign. "Feeling better," he said in a hoarse voice, though it sounded painful. He dusted his t-shirt and resumed his battle stance. Looking over at me, Riley moved back and covered me. Brother took noticed of this, and began to rush the beast again, who in turn began to dodge brother's strikes.

"You are all pests! PESTS!" The beast cried out. "Take this!" It turned to Riley and I and its tails spun momentarily and then they swiped at the air. Black globules formed in the air, and like water droplets, burst forward. The liquid balls landed with a splash, and Riley and I had to jump back to avoid it. Riley moved in front of me and turned his blade up, ready to parry any liquid thrust from the beast.

Looking forward, I noticed something odd at the spot where the black liquid landed. "Guys, don't let that liquid touch you!" I yelled. "It's corrosive! Look how the grass where the liquid has spread has begun withering!"

The beast unleashed another volley of black blobs. Distracted in my analysis of the beast, I noticed a liquid orb in my direction. There was no time to dodge. All I could do was raise my hands and cover my face. "NO!" Riley yelled, and tackled me, making the orb pass me flying. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground in Riley's arms. "Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded, reminded of how worried he had been when I had almost been hit by a car.

"T-t-thank you..." I stuttered, flustered by having Riley's face so close to mine.

"A LITTLE HELP, HERE!" Darryl yelled. Riley quickly stood up and rejoined the battle. The beast gained the advantaged on Darryl, and slashed him with its bladed paw. Darryl cried out in pain but continued fighting. The wound didn't look too deep, but it wasn't shallow.

"Are you okay, brother?" I yelled, far away from the battle. Riley had begun teaming up with Darryl, prodding and jabbing the Zanados with his blade when it bobbed and weaved to avoid Darryl's attacks. The Zanados no longer resembled the white canine we had started fighting just a few minutes ago. It was covered in injuries and drenched in its own sweat and blood, its fur matted by clumps of drying blood. I turned my attention back to brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" he called back. "It's just a scratch!" he said nonchalantly. It seemed from here to be more than a scratch, but I'd rather not correct him now. Watching the injured beast, I was beginning to get annoyed. It should have died by now. Instinct told me the beast would fight until it was a meat puppet; something was off.

Just then a flurry of feathers began to fall from the sky. The feathers were soft and carried a piney scent, the smell of the forest. It was pleasant at first, but then the softest breeze brought about a different smell. The smell of death and blood, spread about so lightly, that it was almost a warning. Surprised, we all looked to the sky. Up in the air was another Zanados. I didn't need look at it much to see it was a Royal. It was at that moment, that I felt fear of death, for all the people with me, my brother and Riley, and the people in the area. Zanados have several distinctive traits that more or less estimate their strength. Royals were the highest classification we could give to these Zanados. They are spotted once every few decades and they were immensely powerful. It looked like any other fur on the street, but something in my blood told me that this was a Zanados. I felt like a giant weight was placed on my chest. It looked at all of us within the blizzard of feathers, staring at me the longest. I felt Riley and Darryl surround me. A deathly ominous feeling was in the air.

It took one more look at me, and back to the Zanados, when it spoke. "Jigazel, why do they still live? Did we not imbue you with our power so that you could sweep these children like cannon fodder? Instead, you have suffered injuries, while these children remain relatively unharmed. You have kept the bargain of keeping them alive, but you have not been able to cause them grief. How...disappointing." Every fiber of my being wanted to fight it, even if it meant death. I'm sure Riley and Darryl felt the same.

The Royal held the form of a heron, pure white with black pupils and iridescent, navy blue-tipped feathers. Its long thin legs were peeling at several parts, and while it was far from beautiful, I marveled at its presence. At its side it held a satchel for storing whatever items a Royal Zanados would carry. "Such a pity. One such as I is to never be disappointed. Away with you, Jigazel." It waved its hands and the feathers floated over to the battle scarred Zanados.

A look of despair filled its eyes. "Please, master, forgive me!"

"No." the heron said coldly. The feathers began swirling all around the Zanados called Jigazel and suddenly we heard an agonized scream. The feathers stopped swirling after a few seconds and all that remained was a black mass of flesh and blood.

Huddled together, we were all stunned at how easily the beast we had been fighting was obliterated. I summoned my S-Ray because I knew I would need it now. The heron turned to me. "Ah, I get to see the Ga-Luz. How wonderful. Forgive me. I know it will be hard. We have placed a great burden on you, and you will suffer. But know that in the end, you fight for good. May you find great happiness. I depart with a gift for you." The heron snapped his fingers and its satchel opened. Suddenly an eddy of cold wind surrounded my orb, and it turned to ice.

It waved a short-handed good bye, and departed, a few feathers floating behind. My knees collapsed as I let my tense body relax. "We did it...sorta." I said, exhausted.

Riley sat down cross-legged next to me and nodded. "I can't believe we saw a Royal Zanados, and it helped us." he said, his face showing how tired he was. "That was a tough fight. I'm glad I was able to fight it with you guys." Sheathing the blade, he dispelled his D-Ray, with brother and me dispelling our D-Rays afterwards.

Brother coughed and kneeled down. "Guys, we can't stay here to long. We're on someone's lawn." I looked about wondering if anybody had seen us. Finding nobody, I looked down, feeling a bit of sadness. I couldn't explain it. I thought for a while, as Riley and Darryl rested for a bit.

"It sucks sometimes." I said somberly.

"We're hunters, Little Prince. You get used to it." Darryl said encouragingly.

I shook my head. "That's not what I mean. I don't mind fighting. It sucks that we fight for all...this. I said, signaling the neighborhood, "And yet these people don't know it. It sucks."

"Oh." Brother said, understanding my sadness. He didn't have anything to say, so we sat in silence. After a while, we all stood up and started the walk home. We walked in silence, with Riley holding my hand to sooth me. I felt something else in my heart. As if I had another reason to feel sad. I wouldn't find out why until we got home.

As we arrived, we found the house surrounded by members from the Children of Eryth. "What's going on?" Darryl asked.

A member turned to us. "You...are you the children of Delilah and Richard Guilten?" Brother nodded. He cleared his throat and stalled a bit, as if he had something he didn't want to say. Finally he looked brother in the eye and said "There ain't an easy way to tell ya this...but kids, your parents are dead."

To be continued.