Crystal surveyed the crater with a furious expression. “The pond,” she wailed, “Why did they tear up the pond? For the love of God, NO!”

“Will you be quiet?” Kaine asked, “Save the hysterics, conserve your energy and my hearing!”

“I’m sorry, I just really loved this pond,” Crystal said, adjusting quickly.

“So did I,” Daniel said, tugging his windbreaker over his shoulders. “It was a prime make-out spot.”

“As if you ever…” Crystal began.

“Be quiet!” Kaine snapped.

Crystal let out a -humph- of offended pride. Kaine had been really hussy of late. The slightest joke could set off a lecture on responsibility. Crystal was getting irritated; she had been getting that lecture all of her life. True, the situation was slightly different in this case, but the principle was the same. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, but if she didn’t find some way to laugh off the tension her hair would be as white as Kaine’s

Another good reason for including Daniel, Austin, and Troy into the venture. Kaine only needed Amanda and Crystal, but Crystal and Amanda had insisted on dragging their friends along. Reluctantly, Kaine agreed. Clearly, Kaine though tonight was going to be more of a training session, but what he didn’t realize was that this was a negotiation. Amanda wouldn’t go along with Kaine unless he gave her a good reason, and Crystal felt the same. Sure, she had come this far without protest, but after the dog-monster attack; Crystal could no longer live in denial. Her life was at stake, as well as the lives of her friends.

“So, where are they?” Crystal asked Kaine in a soft voice.

“Probably working their way here,” Kaine answered, not looking at her, “There may be some relatively weak demons milling around on the outskirts of the park.”

“Kaine! They could be-”

“It’s all right; the demons are no where near as advanced as that dog that you fought,” Kaine cut off as shouts of panic reached their ears. “Ah, there they are, now.”

“What! What is it?” Amanda asked in alarm.

“I stubbed my toe!” Troy hissed, hopping up and down on one foot. Really, he should have worn his Armani slip on as opposed to the soft-toed basketball shoes, but he had to break them in before the season started.

“All that shouting for a stubbed toe? You’re such a pansy,” Austin said in disgust.

“Shut up!” Troy yelled.

Austin started laughing as he walked away; he walked right into a pole. “OOOWW! Stupid, freaking-!” Austin roared.

Troy fell on the ground and proceeded to roll around laughing and displaying other symptoms of hysteria. Amanda didn’t join in the fun or try to stop the ensuing wrestling match (Austin would win, anyway); her attention was focused elsewhere.

Where could they be? Memorial park was a big place, but it shouldn’t be hard to find a short girl, a white-haired priest, and a skinny mop-top. The recent construction did make it hard to walk through the park; there were barriers and piles of dirt and gravel all over the place, amidst the play equipment that was still intact. Amanda and Crystal had had the foresight to pick a time, but not an exact place. It was almost seven, which meant that they were almost late.

Amanda shut her eyes. She could feel things that she wanted or was missing like beacons of light against a gray background. She’d only been able to use it on people if she had a strong bond with the person. There was one time when Amanda felt a bright point of light that turned out to be a Buddhist Monk at an airport, but Amanda had only been nine at the time and had no concept of telepathy, so she quickly forgot about it. It had been a long time since Amanda had even tried her old trick, but lately…things were coming back to her. Things she didn’t even know she had. Still didn’t think she’d have difficulty finding Crystal or Kaine.

“Will you stop whistling?” she asked in irritation.

“I’m not whistling. Troy stop whistling,” Austin said, rubbing Troy’s face in the dirt.

“MMMNOTGGGHHPHHHIN!” Troy replied.

“What did you say?” Austin asked, releasing Troy from the Earthworm grip.

“I said, ‘I’m not whistling’ and get off me!”

“Well, somebody’s whistling,” Amanda said, looking around the darkened play area, “Can’t you hear it?”

Troy and Austin fell silent, listening. Troy closed his eyes and Austin cupped his hands to his ears to amplify sound. It was a very high pitch whistle, one that could set a dog howling. It was kind of dull, though, like a pager buried in a thick winter coat. It changed pitch and intensity abruptly, and then stopped altogether. Amanda, Troy, and Austin held very still, their eyes searching for what had made the noise.

Amanda sucked in a sharp breath and looked down at the dirt beneath their feet. “Maybe…” she said.

A hand erupted from the ground and closed on Amanda’s ankle like a clamp. Amanda yelped in confusion and pain, trying to pull her foot out of the death grasp. Austin lunged forward to help his friend, but as he did, another hand swept from the darkness above him, snagging his polo shirt and tearing a gash down the back. Troy saw this and ducked just in time to avoid a hand that had been reaching for his head. Troy dropped and rolled to one side.

As he came up on one elbow, he saw the thing that had attacked him, but he could hardly believe what he was looking at. The figure was chalk-white, and completely out of proportion. It could’ve been the body of a child, it was so thin, but it looked unnaturally long and the lower torso folded in, revealing a lack of bones in the lower body. But two long legs with backward knees jutted out of the boneless hips. The ribs poked out of the transparent flesh in the upper torso, but instead of a chest, a long, protruding neck arose from the ribs. Balanced almost impossibly on to the neck was a small, hideously twisted and folded hairless head.

Troy gaped with horror as the broken skeleton lurched towards him, lowering its long upper limbs to the ground for balance. The elbows face forwards. The creature’s mouth split open and the same high-pitched whistle emanated from the gap. At least twelve similar whistles answered back.

The were drowned out by Austin’s furious yell, “Back! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAKS!”

Austin punched one of them in the face, knocking it over. Amanda was grappling with the one that had grabbed her foot, but Troy couldn’t decide if she was pulling it out, or if it was pulling her in. Troy grabbed for a rock lying on the ground and threw it at his approaching attacker, but in his complete horror, he missed.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Austin grabbed another of the frail monsters and smashed it into a second. He then grabbed the one Amanda was having problems with, ripped it from the ground, detached it from her leg and threw it at the one still limbering towards Troy. Both went down with the cracking of bones and tearing of thin flesh.

“Come on, come on, COME ON, you idiots! I’m not staying here!” Amanda shouted, tugging on Austin’s arm.

All three of them bolted across the park, dodging construction until they came to the well-lit basketball courts. They locked the chain link fence behind them and stumbled to the middle of the court. Troy sank down and put his head between his knees, fighting nausea. Austin drew himself up and started looking around their surroundings.

“I think we’re safe here for the time being,” Amanda said.

“What the hell is going on?” Austin asked.

“I think that was another version of Ms. Itemiser,” Amanda said bleakly, “Kaine was right; these things are happening all over. I can feel it.”

“Wonderful,” Troy said in a tone that obviously suggested otherwise, “So what’re we supposed to do about it?”

“You’re supposed to fight,” said a fourth voice. The three stiffened as a shadow seemed to melt apart from the darkness surrounding the basketball court. The shadow solidified and began to stalk towards them. The staff and unmistakably white hair gave him away.

“THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!” Amanda said, one step away from a conniption.

“You did better than I thought you would, but I’m a little disappointed with you, Amanda,” Kaine continued as though Amanda hadn’t spoken.

Amanda was boiling, “I didn’t think this was for a grade! I came here for help, not for a fight!”

“You could’ve done more,” Kaine said, admonishingly.

“That is none of your damn business! Now tell me what this is all about or I will show you just how much I can do!” Amanda took one step towards Kaine, threateningly.

Kaine raised his hand and sent the invisible push that was supposed to knock Amanda to the ground. Amanda yielded one step, then charged forward, against the push. She swung at Kaine with her fists, but Kaine easily evaded each strike. Amanda’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Troy heard the telltale hum that indicated Amanda was trying to use her trick. Kaine stepped back and braced himself against some unseen force. Amanda was visibly projecting whatever it was she was doing at Kaine. Finally, tired of the game, Austin marched forward, grabbed Kaine and Amanda by the hair and slammed their heads together, gravitational abnormalities notwithstanding.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Crystal yelled, coming through the fence gate, running towards them. Daniel, the mop top pervert followed.

“Where have you been?” Amanda asked, turning to face Crystal while rubbing her smarting forehead. She elbowed Austin in the ribs, but Austin was watching Kaine with a wary intensity and did not notice.

“We were waiting for you at the pond. We heard yelling, then you went quiet, and Kaine went to go find you. Meanwhile, we got attacked by some jumped-up fish thingy,” Crystal directed the last comment at Kaine, while indicating a slash in her pant leg.

Kaine looked at Crystal, but he wasn’t really seeing her. “I had no idea how widespread it was,” he said softly, to himself.

“What wide spread? Would somebody please explain what’s going on?” Troy said.

Crystal sighed, waved a hand at Kaine, dismissing him, and began to speak, “This evil guy is turning everybody evil by upsetting the Balance (Don’t ask me what that is; I can’t explain.) Anyway, its Kaine’s job to stop this guy and protect the royal family, or whatever (This is where I come in,). Kaine says I have to inherit this power thingy and take my place or something meaningful like that. This is where you come in; I can’t do it by myself, and there’s supposed to be another person who has the same power thingy that I’m supposed to get so we have to find them, too.”

There was a long pause.

“Amanda, did you do the homework for World History? I need to copy you,” Troy said.

“Here we go again,” Amanda muttered.

“I’m telling the truth,” Crystal said in a tone that made everyone stop ignoring what she was saying, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t bear living in a world where anything can jump out of the shadows and kill me. I have to at least pretend that there is something I can do about it.”

“So what can we do?” Daniel asked, “What could five teenagers and a priest guy do?”

“I was expecting six,” Kaine said, eyeing Austin.

“He declined,” Austin said, firmly. To hell if he was going to let Kaine drag Sam into this.

“You can all do such things as Crystal,” Kaine said.

“Like being a teachers pet?” Austin asked.

“Or an apple polisher?” Troy added.

“Heaven forbid you should put forth so much effort!” Crystal snapped.

“Can it,” said Amanda. To Kaine she said, “What are you talking about?”

“All people are capable of manipulating the world around them,” Kaine supplied.

“Yes, with their big SUV’s that don’t compensate for what lacks below,” Crystal interjected, sticking her tongue out at Austin.

“Energy is in everything,” Kaine ignored the side comments, “subtle manipulations that range from creating light to moving objects can be mastered by people untrained in the Mysteries.”

“The only mystery to me is where you get off waltzing into my life and telling me what to do,” Amanda said.

Kaine stared at her with his all-knowing indigo eyes. “You were searching for answers. I can give them. I can teach you to control the magnificent abilities you have already been given. And to you assholes,” he looked at Austin and Troy, “I can provide the strength which you so greatly lack and desire.”

“Does that translate into getting chicks?” Troy asked.

“What about me?” Daniel asked.

“There is no hope for you.”

“Aww…”

“Okay,” said Amanda. “Say I buy it. You can help me. What guarantee do I have that you’re not using me in some ritualistic sacrifice involving bunnies from Mongolia?”

Troy looked at Austin in confusion. Austin waved his hand dismissively; Amanda always said weird stuff.

Kaine again gave Amanda the mysterious stare. “You will have to determine for yourself what the greater meaning of sacrifice is.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Troy asked.

“Remove the stick from your ass,” Crystal said circumventing the tension with her usual denial of the situation, “He’s not asking you to drown small defenseless animals, he just wants you to pay attention to him so you can fight evil and blow stuff up.”

“Sounds like Sailor Moon,” Amanda muttered, but she did let herself relax a little. She didn’t think Crystal would go along with some satanic cult pitch and she certainly wouldn’t be involved if it didn’t require a certain amount of intelligence.

“Oh! I love Sailor Moon!” Crystal squealed. Well, maybe not intelligence, Amanda reasoned.

“Not the Japanimation stuff again,” Troy groaned, hoping to get a response this time.

“There is nothing wrong with anime,” Austin said to Troy.

“Do we get to wear mini-skirts?” Daniel asked, brightly.

“NO,” Amanda and Crystal said in union.

“HEY, Will you fools shut your traps and allow me to finish!” Kaine yelled.

“Is he always so pissy?” Amanda asked Crystal.

“It’s that time of the month,” Crystal whispered conspiratorially.

“Swear,” said Kaine.

“Shit,” said Troy.

“Swear on your souls. I will take you at your word and should you ever seek to oppose the teachings which I will bestow upon you,” Kaine searched the face of each teenager. “You will suffer a fate far worse than death.”

It was a full five seconds before Troy even tried to come up with a smart ass comment; “If you’re talking about those meetings with the school counselor about our feelings, you’re too late.”

“What did you do to deserve that?” Crystal asked.

“My mom told the school I was on drugs,” said Troy, nonchalantly.

“Well? Are you?” Crystal asked.

“Maybe,” Troy said, winking.

“Okay, but you need to help me control this,” Amanda said. “I’m unstable enough as it is. I don’t think I need any added consequences.”

“Done,” Kaine said.

“And will we be able to bend spoons with our minds right at the start?” Austin asked, cracking his knuckles.

“No,” Kaine replied.

“Is this going to put a dent in our social lives?” Troy asked. “Because I got places to go and people to do, if you know what I’m saying.”

“I really can’t say, but if you refuse, you risk being targeted by demons while you’re in mid-coitus,” Kaine pointed out.

“Who’s coitus?” asked Troy.

“Do we get a cute little introduction to the bad guys and a lot of babes?” Daniel asked.

“Uhh…no,” Kaine said, leaning a bit more of his weight upon his staff. Teenagers could be so vapid…and annoying. He drew in a breath and raised himself up off his staff and tapped the end on the concrete three times. The emblem on his brow glowed as he passed his eyes slowly from one person to the next. Perhaps Amanda was imagining it but she felt that his bright purple eyes rested on her for a little longer than the rest. Something inside of her stirred.

“All right,” Kaine said, closing his eyes. “One thing and you can leave. Prepare yourselves; this is going to feel strange….”

The bright mark on his head flared.