"This place is a shit hole." Jehoel remarked looking out over the landscape from atop Thuren Bahn's mausoleum. Thuren remained silent as to not let his contempt show. "What do you want anyway? The boy's mother is still around, not to mention the one that killed Michael is hanging around her and now I can't even find the kid. What was the point in freeing you when you can't even hold up your end of the deal? Jehoel's tone didn't help Thuren's already poor mood. "You seem to have given poor intel." He responded. Jehoel's face turned sour. "What are you talking about? Everything we discussed was vetted thoroughly beforehand." "There are three of them. The one you failed to mention killed my daughters. Permanently. Nobody but an Aeon should have the ability to do something like that." Jehoel fell uncharacteristically silent. "I had felt a presence in the south and sent them to determine what it was and if possible bring it here or eliminate it. Not long after I could no longer sense my daughter's, so like any dutiful parent I set out to find them, and upon my arrival do you know what I found?" Jehoel shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I found the limp, soulless bodies of my children planted in the snow!" The air around Thuren became dense and distorted as he raised his voice. "It could of all been avoided if you would have given me accurate information!" "There are only two, the boy and the woman. There can't be three; it makes no sense. The only other one was Bilan and it was killed by that fool Aeolus." Jehoel explained. Thuren's black hair blew in the stale Xibalban breeze as he contemplated Jehoel's words. " I am grateful to you for freeing me Jehoel, but it seems our alliance was made in error." "What are you on about?" Jehoel asked, annoyed. "It seems you are incapable of completing the task given to you by your superiors and now I must make a more proficient alliance in order to keep my world safe." Suddenly a large grotesque hand seemed to tear into reality from behind Jehoel. Before the angel could react the long black fingers wrapped around him holding him in place. "What are you doing Bahn?" Thuren looked Jehoel in his eyes. "I'm finishing what Aeolus began." The hand then yanked Jehoel back to whatever plane it came from. "But we'll succeed where he failed."

The wind pelted Bahn with sand as he made his way through the desert. He shielded his eyes which were the only parts of him exposed as his head was wrapped in cloth and his body was covered by a brown cloak. He took a sip from his canteen and tried to ascertain his position. The sun had begun to set behind him which told him he was still headed in the right direction. He walked for a few more hours until the dull sound of scraping stone could be heard in the night air. The Tower of the Kings peeked from over the dark horizon, a dim glare from the moon reflected off the golden rings that rotated around the top of the tower. He took another step when suddenly four metallic walls jutted out of the sand around him. The tops of the walls seemed to reach out and touch each other sealing the man inside. After a few moments the walls melted away and the man found himself on a snow covered mountain peak. A muffled chuckle came from Bahn’s covered mouth. "I see why they call you the King of Dreams..." the man turned around to face his captor, "Lukohé." "Bahn." Lukohé snarled, "how did you escape?" Thuren Bahn removed his head wrap. "I had assistance. It's actually one of the reasons I came to speak with you all today." Lukohé's eyes narrowed as he pushed his glasses back into place. "You have two minutes to explain before I leave you here for good." "Very well. I however need to speak with the Librarian." "No deal." Lukohé hopped off the boulder he was sitting on and began to walk away. "Bilan has returned!" Bahn called out. "And the angels are plotting your... organization's demise." Lukohé stopped and the reality around them crumbled, placing them both back in the desert in front of the tower.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Lucian, Lukohé, and Thuren sat around a table inside the tower. "Where are the remainder of your associates?" Lukohé shrugged his shoulders. "You got us, now talk." Thuren smiled and focused his attention on Lucian. "The Angel Jehoel freed me from my confinement in order to distract you so he could carry out his mission of eliminating your pet Aeon and the Xibalban woman." "And how do you know about Tai and Oya?" Lukohé asked. Thuren scoffed. "My daughters did more than search for me during my time away. And speaking of my daughters on a more personal and much more urgent matter, the one who took your sight Librarian, has been resurrected." Lucian didn't respond but the look on Lukohé's face spoke loud enough for the both of them. "You just show up here saying you were freed from a prison we put you in to distract us from a plot to kill Xtabay's son, then you tell us Bilan has mysteriously been resurrected and we're just supposed to believe you? " Lukohé pulled Zephyrs from its sheath and stood from his seat. Lucian held out his hand in protest at his former student. "He speaks the truth. At least about Bilan." Lukohé put Zephyrs back in its sheath. "How can you be so sure?" "Bilan's visage has been slowly illuminating the darkness that is my sight. I see him more clearly now than ever." "And you were going to mention this when?" The annoyance in Lukohé's voice was obvious. "I believe Tawasi's campaign against your pet is the more pressing matter at hand. Even if we confronted Bilan it would be futile without either him or the woman." Lucian nodded in agreement but Lukohé took a second to think. "Fine, so where is Jehoel?" "I took care of him but it's only a matter of time before his replacement appears. According to Jehoel the Angel before him met his end at the hands of the woman." "Oya." Lukohé corrected. "And why did you decide to help us?" Thuren's expression grew cold. "Bilan murdered my daughters and my abilities are not sufficient in defeating him without an even greater sacrifice so the best chance we have of being rid of him is your pet or the woman. And if Tawasi has his sights set on their demise then that won't come to pass." Lukohé stood from their meeting table and walked over to a communications device by the wall. "I'll summon all the Kings, it's time for another summit."