Chapter Three: Reason

The woman holding the white gold staff led the group of cloaked figures as they continued to race through the alleyways. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she tried to reach Ian before it was too late. There was too much at stake for her to fail.

She had seen the change in him first hand not long after Leo's death. He'd become distant, his mind preoccupied with something that began to trouble him. His aloof behavior only grew worse after his wife's untimely death. That was around the time she'd noticed there were occasions he didn't seem like himself. Given the circumstances of Amelia's death, the fact worried her a great deal.

Was he also possessed by a great evil? The item in her hand was warning her he was about to do something terrible, forbidden.

Her senses led the group to the end of the alley, where she paused to see if the coast was clear. With no one in sight, she made a sharp right as she bolted onto the sidewalk then ducked next to a car for cover. The others followed her lead, cautious of their surroundings as they ran out from the shadows and made their way over to her one by one. She waited until they were all together before using the other vehicles or buildings nearby as concealment as she ran up a steep hill.

The sight that greeted her once she made it to the top caused her to pause. A massive black dome had taken shape at the end of the street not far from the wall sectioning the area off from the rest of the city.

"What is that?" she asked with a gasp.

"A dark game," one of the men with her said gravely.

"This is a dark game? How is he already capable of performing such advanced magic?"

"The Arcane Items are no different than the Millennium Items. Once allowed to wield their power, they give the bearer the ability to control darkness. It wouldn't be difficult for him to create something like this."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"We do what we came here to do," he responded, unsheathing a sword with ostrich feathers engraved into the blade.

"You have an item?" she whispered in disbelief.

"We must do what we can to stop him. It is our duty, and now also yours."

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Ian blinked in momentary confusion, finding himself inside a large tent filled with circus memorabilia that reminded him of the days he was a child. Various games and magic trick items were scattered across the floor, many of which he recognized. He and his older brother, Leo, had developed several of them, neither moving past their childlike excitement of games and magic even as adults.

"Talk about sudden displacement," he muttered, continuing to look around in nostalgia. "I didn't expect her to take over and throw me into my soul room."

He glanced at the numerous objects until his eyes stopped on a large family portrait hanging in midair just a few feet to his right.

Eight people, including himself, were gathered close together in front of an extravagant marble fireplace.

Ian's face was filled with amusement while he glanced down at his younger sister Cassandra standing next to him at the back of the group. Leo was on the other side of her. He had an affectionate smile on his lips while looking down at the woman, boy, and baby girl in front of him. Both brothers' arms were tangled in Cassandra's hip-length black hair while they were wrapped around her back or shoulders. She had her arms behind their backs as she pulled them tightly to her sides with a bright grin on her face, her warm brown eyes shining with mirth.

Another beautiful pale-skinned woman with soft long blonde hair was sitting in a chair directly in front of Ian. She had been his wife, Amelia. Her brilliant lilac eyes were on his brother's face as she gazed at him with an adoring smile. He had seen the soft look on her features many times while watching his older brother. However, until recently, he hadn't known the true meaning of the expression on her face. It was a painful reminder of what had transpired between them only a few weeks ago.

In front of their sister, at the center of the portrait, were two boys. One had been his nephew Luke, and the other was his son Alexander. They were sitting on the floor between their mothers with their legs cross. Alexander's lilac-colored eyes were bright as he smiled innocently, unaware that Luke was making bunny ears behind his shoulder-length blond hair. He had taken after his mother more than he had his father in looks, but he and Ian seemed to share some personality traits. Luke had a mischievous look in his eyes that would have made his father proud while he grinned, knowing he was getting away with teasing his younger cousin.

The last woman in the portrait was Amelia's younger sister and Leo's wife, Sophie. She was sitting in a chair that had been placed in front of Leo. Her vibrant red eyes were filled with unconditional love while she stared down at the small, healthy baby girl smiling in her arms.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The child was his newborn niece, Layla. She'd taken after her mother in looks with her soft brown hair and red eyes. Luke had chosen to allow her to play with his fingers to make her happy and entertained. It was a sign of the affection he held for her.

Ian stepped forward and gingerly touched the portrait where Layla was.

As always, it brought forth a myriad of emotions. Happiness, sadness, longing, pain... Memories of happier days, of the tragedies that later unfolded, and the promises he'd made became fresh once again as he stared at it.

He had spent many nights wishing, more than anything, that things would have turned out differently. He'd lost nearly everything he cared about in the short span of a couple of months. The portrait in front of him represented everything that had been and what could have been. But, it also reminded him of his reason for fighting.

The past couldn't be altered. Now Ian could only afford to think about the future and focus on accomplishing what he'd set out to do. There was nothing left for him to lose and everything to gain.

"I promise, I'll save you," he whispered to Layla's illustration with determination etched across his face.

He stepped away from the canvas and headed for a misplaced wooden door on the left side of the tent. The moment he grasped the metal of the handle, he threw it open and stepped out into a cold torchlit stone corridor. Just opposite of him was an old castle door made out of solid wood. To his immediate left, a thick stone wall blocked him from heading farther in that direction. Half of it was made from new stones, while the opposite side was ancient and showed wear and tear to match the appearance of the other door. To the right, the corridor continued until you could see nothing but darkness.

He ignored the other mysterious door and headed to the right. A brilliant white light appeared in the distance just as the darkness of the hallway was about to engulf him, and he continued onward until he stepped through it.

The scenery changed back to the dark game he'd been playing before he was thrown into his soul room. His spirit-like form floated near his body, invisible to everyone but him and the woman in possession of his body. He watched the remanence of the woman's power fade as the gold light that had once illuminated his frame disappeared. The eye on his forehead vanished soon after, and the one on the necklace also stopped glowing. Porter and his soldiers were nowhere to be seen as he glanced around the area.

Ian whistled, impressed. "I see you were able to take care of them. They're completely gone."

When he looked back over at his body, it was glaring at him with fury.

"What?" he asked in bewilderment, wondering what he could have done to incur the woman's wrath.

"You know what, idiot!" she bellowed, more irritated than before because of his response. "Do you realize what would have happened if I hadn't been here?! You would be dead if I wouldn't have been able to step in with just enough time to save you!"

The expression on his face softened.

"Sorry, princess," he apologized. "I'll try to be more careful next time."

"You better be," the woman responded threateningly within his mind.

Without so much as a warning, she relinquished her control over his body. He blinked in confusion for a moment as he adjusted to the situation.

"You really should try giving a guy some sort of warning before doing that."

"Before doing what?" the woman asked in confusion.

He went to reply but froze when he felt the prongs dangling from the lower half of his necklace shift. The others were close, too close.

"We need to leave. Now."

Ian allowed the shadows to fade as he knelt down to pick up his cloak and dice. As he stood and placed it back around his shoulders, he spotted the woman he'd rescued still standing nearby, hiding in the same place as before. Her blue eyes were wide in amazement as she looked around and realized the soldiers that had attacked her had vanished.

"Ian!" an all too familiar female voice called out.

A frown appeared on his lips as he spun around to face the very people he'd hoped to escape from before they reached his location.

Every person standing in front of him was related to him in some way through his marriage. The only exception was the sole woman in their group, who he had been trying desperately to avoid until now. Out of the seven people, he only knew two of them. It wasn't until his world began spiraling out of his control a month ago that the other's existence became known to him.

"I'm surprised," he said. "I didn't think so many of you would be here, least of all you, Cassandra."

"Stop this foolishness before it's too late," his sister pleaded, removing the hood of her cloak and staring at him in desperation.

"It's already too late."

"No, it's not!"

"He's right," his father-in-law stated, removing the hood of his cloak and glaring at him with silent fury in his cold red eyes. "He has defied our laws and now must face the consequences of his actions."

Cassandra looked at the older blond-haired man in horror as he pointed his sword at Ian.

"Come with us quietly, and we will not use force."

"You have the sword?" Ian asked him in surprise.

The last thing he expected was for his father-in-law to decide to take one of the Arcane Items. He had been told that it was forbidden for the family to use them.

"You have left your sister and me little choice but to wield the Arcane Items if we wish to stop you."

Ian's eyebrows furrowed as he glanced back over at his sister. Anger swelled up inside of him when he saw the object in her hand.

"This is too far. Why did you involve Cassandra in this, Arthur?!"

"The Arcane Staff has chosen her. It is beyond your control. Now, come with us or face judgment here."

"Do you honestly believe I'll come back willingly?" he snarled.

"Don't be stupid!" Cassandra shouted at him in frustration. "You'll only make this worse if you do this!"

"There is something I must do," he told her while continuing to glare at his father-in-law. "I cannot stay here."

"Then you leave us with no choice," Arthur said as he brought his sword above his head.

A gold aura surrounded his body as magic began to gather around him. The other five behind him began to chant in an ancient language he couldn't understand, and a purple aura wrapped around their bodies much like Arthur's.

"Let me take over," the woman said in Ian's mind. "They are still children when it comes to harnessing their powers. I know I'll be able to defeat them."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Ian asked. "We can't afford to have to you deplete the rest of your power."

"I know I have enough for this," she said confidently.

"Fine," he agreed.