Violet (Chapters 1-4)

Eli's adventure begins.

Sanguinem

Age 1:

Violet

A novel by Lennon Townes

This is a work in progress version of the novel. Enjoy seeing it develop and change. ^_^

Prologue

You know it’s going to be a good night when a group home for kids is dead silent. When kids ranging from small toddlers to teens are all snoozing away, wistfully dreaming of wherever their minds wished to take them during their slumber, you are free to do whatever you wish; The staff took full advantage of this, sitting around in the gigantic break room and playing cards and other games and enjoying each other’s company. Occasionally, one of them would get up and go to check on the children. Upon seeing that the kids were still docile, they would return to their games, still a subtle yet always present sentinel over the most valuable cargo of all.

One of the staff, Karen, played a royal flush, winning the game of cards she was playing with the other staff. “Ha! Eat it, suckers!”

The others in the game groaned, throwing down their hands. They all had mediocre cards.

One of the managers walked over. “Karen, it’s your turn to check the kids.”

Karen smiled. “Okay.” She turned back to the other staff. “I’ll kick your guys’ butts when I get back.”

Karen started walking, the sound of quiet laughter, game pieces clicking, and cards shuffling dwindling behind her. As soon as she was alone, she began to admire the luxurious design of the home for the millionth time: Nearly everything making up the building was wood or stone: no fabricated or modern building material due to the lack of said materials on the island of Rhagan. This gave the home a very cozy feel, and it was very well put together and aesthetically pleasing. It only had 20 or so rooms to harbor children, and the rest of the space was either halls, rooms for the staff to stay in, or something to that effect, taking up two stories of space. All of the rooms and halls were well furnished too: fancy paintings and stylish furniture were well all placed in the rooms. The size alone made it difficult to break into, and on top of that, the staff had their near-constant patrol to make sure the children were safe.

Karen started checking rooms, eventually making her way to the room with most of the troublemakers in it. She cracked the door open, almost expecting the lights to flash off and the boys to jump into bed, but it was much worse.

The room was dark and the boys were asleep, sure, but a bed in the corner of the room had a figure looming over it. Karen started forward but froze when the figure turned to face her.

“You,” Karen whimpered. “You’re one of them!”

The moonlit figure, who appeared to be a female with pale skin, vibrant tangerine hair, and amber eyes, pressed her index finger to her lips with a chuckle. “Hush, my darling. You don’t want to wake them, do you?”

Karen held her ground with a steady stance but lowered her voice. “What do you want with the kids?”

“‘The kids?’” The woman said, giggling. “There’s only one that I want in this room.”

The woman gestured to the bed she stood over. In the bed slept a small, anorexic-looking boy with frizzy orange hair. Karen’s mouth fell open slightly, but she snapped it closed.

“What do you want with him?” She whispered.

The woman grinned. “Don’t act like you don’t know. He and a couple of other children here are different, and you know it.” She bent down, gently running her fingers through the boy’s hair. “This one especially intrigues me.”

Karen gulped. “Take me instead. He’s had a rough life and doesn’t deserve--”

Before she could finish, the woman rushed Karen, pinning her against the wall with her hand around Karen’s neck before she could react. “I don’t want some random girl,” The woman hissed, choking Karen. “I want the Demon sleeping in that bed.”

Karen shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The woman grinned. “It’s ironic to think about… a child’s group home with religious origins harboring the literal demon of fire.”

Karen spat in the woman’s face. “Shut up.”

The woman growled and she burst into aqua-colored flames, covering her entire body. Karen whimpered in pain as the life was choked out of her. Her skin started turning black as the flames spread across her body, completely covering it.

The lights flicked on and all the boys started to come to. The woman with orange hair whipped to see who turned on the lights and grinned. A small boy of about 13 with albino skin winced in the light, his finger still on the switch. The woman dropped Karen’s now limp, charred body, raised her other arm, and the flames rushed off her body and became a blue fireball, aimed right at the boy. The albino boy cowered in fear as it cascaded right for him.

The fireball exploded and the boy screamed. He slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was on the ground, being shaken. He looked up to see the ginger-haired boy shaking him, who was desperate to wake him.

There was no sign of the woman or any of the children, and the room was in flames.

The boy with orange hair sighed with relief, his pitch black eyes tearing up. “Eli? Oh, thank goodness you’re okay.”

The albino boy shook his head, clearing the cobwebs from his mind. “Edward…? What happened?”

The ginger boy, Edward, extended a hand to help him up “No time to explain. We have to get out of here. Now.”

Eli grabbed Edward’s hand, pulling himself up and wincing in pain from burns. “Okay.”

Edward adjusted his hand to better guide Eli out of the room. It was clear when they exited the room that the entire building was in flames. Eli squinted as hard as he could, trying his hardest to make out shapes ahead of him as Edward pulled him along, but the fire was too bright. His sensitive eyes began to hurt from the intense light and sting from the smoke. He shut them, using Edward’s hand to guide him through the hungry flames.

Eli fell, the ground falling out beneath him, losing Edward’s grip. Eli cried out as he rolled, fear and pain gripping him as Edward’s hand left him and he bounced down what felt like burning stairs. He tried to push himself up after he stopped rolling, but a ceiling rafter collapsed on top of him and pinned him down. He began to sob, gripped with hopelessness. He was blind, in immense pain, couldn’t breathe, and his only safe haven was collapsing around him.

Edward rushed down the stairs where Eli fell, screaming Eli’s name. Seeing Eli covered with flaming debris, he rushed over and tried to lift the rafter pinning him. Failing to lift the massive log, Edward sneered, taking a step back. He threw out his arms, and slowly lifted them, his pitch-black eyes gaining pupils of fire. The flaming log, bowing to Edward’s will, began to lift off of Eli. Edward cast the log aside, and plucked Eli, now unconscious, off the ground. With his friend safe, he looked for an exit.

Edward spotted a window. “Hold on, Eli.”

Edward sprinted towards the window, the group home collapsing behind him. Luckily, they were only on the ground floor. Edward broke through the wall like the Hulk, stumbling and almost dropping Eli as the freezing cold night air hit them like a bus. A crowd and emergency vehicles encircled the scene.

Unlike Eli, Edward was completely fine: he didn’t have a single burn or bruise on him. The only thing that was burning was his clothes, which stopped smoldering on their own. Spotting an ambulance, Edward ran over, still carrying Eli.

Edward kneeled, panting as paramedics took Eli from him. He turned to look at the group home. The building was completely consumed, the hungry orange flames chewing the wood like a child devouring its favorite dessert. A paramedic wrapped his arm around Edward’s shoulders, helping him to his feet and guiding him to the ambulance.

A man burst through the crowd in front of the group home and rushed towards the boys. The firemen went to stop him from approaching the building but froze when they saw who he was.

He was a man of Indian descent wearing a long, olive green overcoat that billowed behind him as he ran. He had striking green eyes--a sharp contrast to his dark skin. Everyone there immediately recognized him, especially because of the emblem on his coat: Five tally marks with two diagonal slashes beneath it.

“Is Eli okay?” He asked, the subtle hint of an accent in his voice. “Where is he?”

“Redmar…” Eli whimpered. The man, perking up at the sound of his name, rushed to Eli as paramedics rolled him to the ambulance on a stretcher.

“She’s here,” Eli croaked. His eyes were flushed red and his body covered in burns. “The orange-haired woman.”

Redmar’s head shot up, and he began looking around frantically as Eli was loaded into the ambulance. On Redmar’s hand rested a pale ring, the same color as a dried bone with red and white designs on it. He slipped it off of his finger and slowly began walking towards the building. As he walked past a firefighter, he grabbed him by the collar, looking him straight in the eye. “Get everyone out of here. They are all at huge risk.”

As Redmar let go of the firefighter, the ring in his hand began to grow. It expanded into a long, bone-like warscythe. It had the same color scheme as the ring, tan with red and white stripes running all along the handle. At the end, a scythe-like blade sprouted out like that of a spear, only shaped like a long dorsal fin of a shark. Redmar readied the weapon, perking up his ears for any sounds of movement from inside the building.

He put his finger to his ear and muttered something as he waited, his gaze unyielding. Everyone in the surrounding crowd being herded by the firemen slowly began walking away from the scene, but they seemed reluctant.

A couple minutes later, after the fires were mostly out, a couple of women and one man with matching overcoats to Redmar’s bustled their way through the thinning crowd. All three of the coats had the same emblem as Redmar’s, but they were all white instead of olive green.

People began to whisper at the sight of the people with the overcoats. “Hunters…” a few whispered. “--what are they doing here--” “--are one of those criminals responsible--” “What do we--”

The Hunters stood straight as an arrow, hands behind their backs, and bowed to Redmar. At the same time, they all muttered, “Princep Belle.” Redmar nodded in response, his eyes still locked on the building, searching for movement.

One of the Hunters, a girl with a stylish faux hawk and dark skin, straightened and turned to face the crowd. “Listen up everyone. Please return to your homes. Everything is okay, we have this under control--”

A fireball rushed out of an alleyway next to the ruins of the group home. The crowd, still refusing to depart, screamed as it cascaded towards Redmar. In defense, he spun his warscythe; as he did, it morphed into a shield, shattering the fireball into sparks. He spun it again, morphing it into a spear and pointing it at the group home. The end of the spear started to glow, and a massive ray of energy shot out, melting the side of the group home. He swung, lashing the beam across the wreckage, melting the bottom of it and causing it to collapse again.

Redmar sat in the follow-through position, waiting. One of the other hunters went to approach the building, but Red calmly raised his arm and put up his finger, stopping him.

Without warning, a massive column of fire came from the other side of the wreckage. Redmar turned his spear and fired another beam, which slammed into the fire, exploding and dissipating it. Red nodded, and the three other hunters rushed the building, drawing guns and other weapons of their own as the spear transformed into a shortsword.

Redmar stood in silence, his stance casual but eyes locked on his prey. From where he stood, the calls and commands of the other Hunters could be faintly heard. Gunshots started firing, and a flaming figure shot out of the top of the ruins of the group home, flying in a huge arc and landing a few feet in front of Redmar, sending a wave of heat towards him. It stood up, and standing in blue flames was the woman with orange hair.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Belle and his precious Hunters,” the woman hissed sarcastically through the flames. The heat wafting off of her was so intense it evaporated the slush on the road from the snow around her, but Redmar was unwavering.

Redmar raised an eyebrow as his colleagues rushed out of the building behind the woman. “Are you going to come quietly this time, Alia?”

Alia smirked. “Do I really have to answer that?”

A cold breeze blew as the other Hunters trained guns at Alia. The girl with the fauxhawk held long, razor-sharp needles that glinted in the firelight, ready to be thrown. Alia was surrounded.

Redmar pointed his sword at her throat, the tip glowing with energy. “You tell me.”

Alia looked to either side of her, and upon seeing that she was trapped, bowed her head. The flames surrounding her went out, the cold night air hitting everyone around her. Alia nodded. One of the other Hunters, a man with brown hair, pulled out handcuffs and began to approach her.

Red lowered his sword, turning it back into a ring and slipping it on his finger. “Good choice.”

Redmar began punching something into a touchscreen on the back of his glove, and sirens began roaring in the distance. Alia grinned, a tear rolled down her cheek. She sighed as Police cars cascaded down the street, boxing her and the Hunters in. Just before the male Hunter could cuff Alia, her eyes lit up. Redmar saw her expression, and his eyes widened.

“Get down!”  Redmar shouted as milky white flames erupted from Alia, and she screamed with laughter. Redmar threw out his hand, and energy blasted from the ring on his finger, launching him outside of the ring of cars and away from Alia. He started sprinting away, his finger to his ear again.

“You seriously thought I would let you take me that easily?!” She screamed with delight. The hunters behind her dropped their guns and started to run, but fell to the ground as their flesh melted from their bones. Alia roared with laughter, the flames around her exploding outward in a massive ring, intense heat swarming the area. All the emergency vehicles around her exploded. Lights around the city flashed on, lighting up buildings and streets. More sirens pierced the night as a woman cloaked in white flames leaped roof to roof, fleeing the scene of the mass homicide she just committed.

Chapter 1

Three years later.

“How to Survive an Attack from Natives.”

Eli clicked his pen rapidly as the grueling video droned on and on. He glanced across the room to Edward, who appeared just as bored. Even though Edward was wearing sunglasses, it was obvious that he was falling asleep. His head, propped up on his hand, was bobbing up and down as he dipped in and out of consciousness. Eli grinned as Edward’s sunglasses started to drift off his face.

Edward wore sunglasses any time he was around people. The sole reason for this was because he had pitch black eyes; He appeared to have no irises or sclera, just... black. Eli didn’t quite know why they were like that, but Ed hinted that it might relate to something that happened when he was a kid. He kept what his eyes looked like mostly a secret out of fear of being harassed, so Eli was one of the only people with the privilege of knowing what lay under those sick aviators. Despite hiding his eyes, he still had a captivating appearance: fuzzy red hair that was a lowkey afro, pale skin, and lean muscle. People always tried to play with his hair, but those that did figure out the hard way that it was a bad idea. People quickly learned to let him blend into the crowd.

Eli, however, stood out like a sore thumb no matter what he did. He was albino, which meant he had stark white skin and hair, which meant he had a sensitivity to sunlight. Because of this, he had to dress up heavily to be able to go out in sunlight. When his face wasn’t hidden by a bandanna, sunglasses, and a beanie, his sharp and striking features grabbed everyone’s attention: Not only was his skin abnormal, he had purple eyes, which everyone constantly pointed out. He grew out his hair to try and hide better, but it only drew more attention to himself. He wore glasses, which helped keep him hidden, but people were always trying to take them and see how blind he was, which bugged the crap out of him.

Eli grinned as he heard Edward’s head fall and hit his desk with a loud thunk. Eli started giggling as Edward jumped awake and frantically began writing on the assignment for the video.

Eli jumped as the teacher tapped him on the shoulder. “You of all people should be paying attention to this.”

Eli rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mr. Rando.”

Behind him, someone bumped him as the teacher walked away. He turned around, frowning. It was a girl he didn’t recognize.

This must be the new girl, Eli thought. She looked like one of your typical punk girls: Head shaved on one side, spiked choker, leather jacket, ripped jeans, the works. Her hair was pitch black and wavy and her skin was the same color as chocolate, and she had a flawless smile that she greeted Eli with when he turned to her; it was needless to say she was attractive.

Eli raised an eyebrow at her, forcing a smile. She held up a note with his name on it. He took it, scrunching his eyebrows together. As he took and unfolded the note, he pondered on how someone he had never seen before today could have known his name.

Just as he was about to fully unfold the note, it was taken from him. He looked to see who the culprit was, and sure enough, it was Mr. Rando. He was crushing the note with an iron grip, crinkling it.

His deep brown eyes were full to the brim with rage. “Meet me after class, Eli.”

Eli sighed as Mr. Rando walked back to his desk. He turned to the girl behind him. “Wait for me outside the door after class so we can talk during lunch, okay?”

He looked over to Edward, who was already staring. He slowly shook his head sarcastically at Eli, who rubbed his eye with his middle finger at him, grinning.

Edward stood outside the door, waiting for Eli. A girl of what looked like latino descent was waiting too, who Edward assumed was the girl who passed Eli the note. They both stood there in an awkward silence. Edward would have said something, but his head was loud enough as it was. The voices in Edward’s head suggested multiple things to do to break the awkwardness: Ash, the voice of his younger brother, suggested that the start of a conversation would be a good way to make this less taxing on his anxiety, but Amber, the voice of his older sister, blatantly stated that Ed should hurt her.

Eli strode out of the classroom, breaking Edward’s trance. Eli’s face was blank yet laced with rage and annoyance at the same time.

Edward stopped him before he could storm off to the lunchroom. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

Eli stopped, nodding slowly. “Oh, right,” He said, turning to the girl. “Sorry, I was caught up in the moment.”

She looked at him curiously. “What do you mean? What happened in there?”

Eli leaned against the wall, putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “He shredded the note before I could read it.”

The girl frowned. “Rude.”

“I know right? It pissed me off.”

The girl brushed her hair behind her ear, as though nervous. “My name is Katie. You are Eli, right?”

Eli nodded. “How do you know my name? If we’ve ever met, which I doubt, I don’t remember you.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Hailee pointed you out. Not to mention, I was at the group home with you.”

Edward raised his eyebrow. “Really?”

Katie nodded. “Yep. We didn’t talk very much.”

Edward frowned. “Are you sure? I and Eli talked to almost everyone there and became friends with them, so I find it hard to believe that we didn’t really talk.”

Eli looked over Katie’s shoulder. “Well, we have a third source coming in soon, so we’ll have confirmation soon.”

Katie turned around to see what Eli was looking at, and her face lit up. “Hey, Hailee!”

Edward turned, seeing a stunningly beautiful girl striding gracefully towards them. She had deep green eyes with a splash of freckles beneath them and light blonde hair that had a natural curliness to it. She wore her usual dress, which consisted of ripped jeans and a tank top. She strode with a graceful bounce that turned the eye of every boy in the vicinity; Enter Hailee Kiarra.

Hailee waved back at Katie. “Hey, hot stuff. What’s up?”

Eli and Edward’s eyes met, both sharing the same confused look. In unison, they both mouthed, “Hot stuff?”

Hailee walked up and put her arm around Katie, nodding to Eli and Edward. Her Irish accent was striking. “How’s she cuttin’?”

Eli and Edward both stared.

Hailee raised an eyebrow, flicking her eyes between the two boys. “What?”

Edward fumbled with his words. “Do you-- was she at the group home before it burned down?”

Hailee donned a confused look. “Of course. She’s my best friend. She didn’t really hang around you guys, but she was there.”

Edward frowned. “But we knew everyone there… Right?”

Katie shrugged. “Guess not.”

Hailee chuckled, turning around and walking towards the lunchroom. “C’mon, it’s lunchtime, let’s go eat.”

As Hailee and Katie walked off, Eli and Edward stood frozen. Edward flinched as his dissociative identity disorder kicked in. He clicked his tongue three times, signaling that Ash was now the one in control. Upon seeing no one else in the hallway, Ash took off his sunglasses.

“If they’re best friends,” Ash said, cleaning his aviators with Ed’s shirt. “Why haven’t we heard of Katie before now?”

Eli shrugged. “What, do you think Katie altered her memories or something when she came here?”

Ash put the sunglasses back on. “Not necessarily, though you and I know that’s entirely possible. But regardless, Ed and I are fine with Katie sticking around since she does seem to have a bond of some sort with Hailee, but we need to keep an eye on her. I have a bad feeling about her.”

Eli nodded, grinning. “I agree, but that could just be your paranoia talking. Let’s just roll with it, what could go wrong?”

Ash flinched and clicked his tongue twice, now back to Edward. He bumped Eli playfully. “Whatever bro. Just be careful, I have a bad feeling about her.”

Edward and Eli made their way to the lunchroom and found Katie, Hailee, and Oliver waiting for them.

Oliver smiled shyly at Eli and Edward. “Hey.”

Without saying much else, they all reserved seats with their backpacks and went to get food. The lunchroom wasn’t super well kept: The staff kind of gave up cleaning the cafeteria thoroughly after the hundreds of food fights instigated by troublemaking students, so naturally the place was a wreck. Tables were more often than not strewn around the room in no particular order with stains all over them, so the students took it upon themselves to organize the lunchroom, and some even decided to help keep it clean, but it was still a fruitless venture. At least the food was good.

Oliver spoke up as he grabbed a slice of pizza. “Hey, guys?”

Everyone turned to him expectantly.

Oliver looked down shyly. “Can we maybe all hang out after school? I don’t want to deal with my parents today and I need some company.”

Eli grinned, grabbing a milk carton. “We could hang out at me and Edward’s place. I’m sure Redmar wouldn’t mind.”

Ed piped in. “Not to sound rude, but why are you asking us? Aren’t you hanging out with Chelsea?”

Oliver shifted nervously. “Actually, Chelsea is sick, that’s kinda why I asked.”

“Then shouldn’t you be taking care of her?” Hailee muttered tersely.

Oliver looked down in shame. “I wish I could, but her parents won’t let me into their home for some reason… Do you think I did something wrong--”

“Okay, you can tag along,” Hailee said quickly, cutting him off as she punched in her lunch number. Edward elbowed her in the gut, giving her an accusing look.

Oliver smiled shyly, but his rust-orange eyes teared up. “Th-thanks.”

Eli grabbed Hailee dragging her away from the group, lowering his voice. Edward slowed and clicked his tongue, funneling Ember and Ash’s hearing abilities into his own so he could hear what they were saying. “What’s your problem?”

“He’s one of them.” She whispered. “He’s Rhagish, Eli.”

Eli furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

Hailee rolled her eyes. “Look at him: he has strange colored eyes. They’re the same color as rust, Eli. His skin almost as pale as yours, yet he isn’t albino. And the most revealing factor is that he has the raven-like hair that the video in second period talked about. See how it changes colors if you move your head back and forth?”

Eli donned a skeptical look but looked at Oliver, who was sitting down at their table. Eli moved his head like he was doing an Egyptian dance without all the arm motions.  Edward subtly did it too so it wasn’t obvious he was eavesdropping. Sure enough, Oliver’s hair shimmered in the light like the feathers of a raven, only instead of green and blue, it shimmered orange and yellow.

Eli turned to Hailee. “Okay... and why should that change anything about how we should treat him?”

Hailee sighed. “You didn’t watch the video, did you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

Eli scoffed. “Because I don’t believe in discrimination. Oliver hasn’t done anything wrong, so why should we treat him any different just because of his race? That makes no sense.”

Hailee stamped her foot and poked him in the chest. “You and I both know firsthand why they shouldn’t be treated equally.”

Eli folded his arms. “The group home wasn’t his fault, Hailee. It was one of the Six who did that. If you’re going to hate anyone who’s Rhagish, it should be them. Not Oliver.”

Hailee growled, throwing her untouched food away and storming off. Katie jumped up and ran after her. Eli shook his head, walking back to Edward and Oliver at the table.

“What was that about?” Edward inquired, despite knowing what was said.

Eli shook his head. “Second period.”

Edward frowned, taking some of Eli's food. “She actually watched the video, didn’t she?”

Eli nodded. “Of course she did.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

They both turned to Oliver, who looked concerned.

“Were you in class last period?” Eli asked.

Oliver shook his head, looking anxious. “No… They made me wait in the hall.”

Eli, Edward, and Oliver traipsed down the hallway towards their next period after lunch. On the way, people gave them weird looks; Looks of judgment. Eli and Edward couldn’t care less, but Oliver started slowly getting a more and more depressed look on his face as they pressed on. Only small little smiles and sideways glances at Eli and Edward as they tried to include him in the conversation. It was evident he knew a little about what happened last period, he just didn’t admit it.

As they reached Oliver and Edward’s next classes, Eli turned and began walking the other way. Sure, his next class was on the other side of the school, but he still wanted to walk his friends to their classes.

As he walked, the halls became more and more packed with the kids who always took forever to leave the lunchroom started going to their next class. Before Eli knew it, the halls were swarming with kids, and he was trapped in the middle of them. Eli’s eyes widened as he started breathing heavily, his claustrophobia kicking in. People were bumping into him left and right.

“No no no…” He muttered. Before he knew it, he was flashing back to being trapped under the flaming wooden beam back in the group home. The pressure of the beam was crushing him, pressing down on his chest and restricting his breathing, the hot coals of the flaming wood burning his sensitive skin… He started shaking as the false pain overtook his body, and darkness started closing in around his eyes.

"MOVE!”

Eli threw his hands out in panic and anger, trying to shove his peers away from him to give him some room… but his hands never touched anyone. He slowly opened his eyes, his arms still outstretched, and realized that everyone in the hallway was now piled up against the walls in two massive heaps, squirming in confusion.

Eli stared, wondering what the hell just happened. Did he just part the human equivalent of the Red Sea? He stood pondering, but the minute bell rang and he jumped. He dropped his arms, dusted himself off, cleared his throat, and started walking through the path he had somehow created.

As he walked into Biology, he started grinning, picturing all of his schoolmates crashing into the walls as he threw his arms out. He started daydreaming about having telekinetic powers... Oh, all of the things he could do. Never having to stick his arm all the way into a can of Pringles again, being able to throw the ball for Tally, his dog, without having to get up and grab it every time she wouldn’t drop it close enough… oh, man, the possibilities were endless.

After class, as he approached the rendezvous point for him and his friends, he noticed that Oliver was sobbing, his parents standing behind him. Eli wrinkled his brow and started jogging towards the group.

Oliver, upon seeing Eli, ran over and collapsed in his arms. Eli hugged him as he sobbed, a worried look spread across his face.

“Oliver?”

Oliver pulled himself out of Eli’s arms, tears streaming down his face. Absolute despair and crushing grief coated his face like thick paint that wouldn’t come off. His eyes were scarlet from crying.

In a choked voice that took way too much effort to generate, he muttered: “Chelsea is missing.”



Chapter 2

A pensive silence shrouded the group.

Eli, Edward, Oliver, Hailee, and Katie all sat together in Eli’s room, reminiscing. No one knew what to say. Oliver had no idea where his girlfriend was, what were they supposed to say?

Hailee shook her head, clearing the cobwebs out of her mind, and scooted closer to Oliver, and started gently rubbing his back. “I’m sorry I didn’t treat you super well earlier.”

Oliver gave her a quick smile. “It’s okay.”

Edward chimed in. “So, Chelsea just… disappeared? Wasn’t she sick?”

Oliver shook his head. “Turns out her sister, Cerise, was killed by one of the six recently. When Chelsea heard about her death, it crushed her. She stayed ho-home, and her parents lied that she was sick so the truth wouldn’t get out and cause drama, I guess. But I guess they didn’t keep a close enough eye on her because she… she…”

Edward put his hand on Oliver’s shoulder, stopping him. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to, bud.”

Oliver’s face collapsed and the dam holding his emotion broke. Tears streamed down his face. Edward shifted his hand to Oliver’s back, gently rubbing. Everyone else scooted closer, except for Eli. He stood up and started pacing, wringing his beanie with angst.

Katie cautiously raised her hand. “Uh, who is Chelsea exactly?”

“Oliver’s girlfriend,” Edward said, briefly looking up from comforting Oliver. “The two of them were inseparable.”

Katie nodded, scooting closer. “I’m sorry. They’ll find her eventually.”

Oliver chuckled. “Remember when Hailee tried to scare Chelsea?”

Everyone started laughing.

Hailee wiped a tear away from her eye. “It’s so hard to scare someone who’s deaf.”

Katie felt confused. “Wait, she was deaf?”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah. She speaks through sign language, specifically KhSL, or the sign language we Rhagish used before the Culling.”

More tears poured out of Oliver’s eyes when he mentioned the Culling.

Eli strode over to Oliver, kneeling down and looking him in the eyes, trying his best to keep his temper in check. “Which one was it?”

Oliver wiped away a tear. “What?”

“Which of the Six killed Cerise?”

Oliver shook his head. “I... I don’t know...”

Just as Eli was about to get rough, a knock echoed through the room. Eli’s door opened, and Redmar poked his head in. “Hey, kids. I’m going on a--” He stopped, seeing Oliver's grief-stricken face. “Um, maybe I’ll just go…”

Eli stood up, putting his hands on his hips. “Where are you going?”

Redmar grinned and said nothing.

Eli growled, walking over and jabbing his finger into Redmar’s chest. “Don’t play games with me, old man. Where?”

Katie stood up, her heart pounding. “Eli, calm down.”

The grin fell off of Redmar’s face, and he donned a mildly annoyed look. “I’m going on a hunt.”

“Perfect,” Eli said, flipping back around and grabbing his shoes. “We’re coming too.”

Redmar shook his head. “No.”

Hailee stood up. “Eli now isn’t the best time for this kind of thing, we could get hurt.”

Eli turned to her. “I am not going to let the ones who caused Oliver this much pain to get away.”

Edward jumped in. “I’m sorry, buddy, but I have to agree with Hailee. Not only could be get hurt, how do you know the one we find, if we find one, is the one that killed Cerise?”

“If we don’t find one,” Eli muttered, slowly approaching Edward. “I’m going to help our father hunt them down until I find one, and torture them until they give me the info I need.”

“And I’ll help,” Katie says, standing by Eli, smiling on the inside.

“Is that what’s going on?” Red interjected. “Well that certainly brings up a good point, but still, these are hardcore criminals we’re dealing with here. Besides, if I wanted help, I could just--” Before Redmar could finish, Eli noticed his pupils dilate for a split second, then go back to normal. Then he continued: “Actually, you’re right Eli. Everyone get your stuff together, we’re leaving in an hour.”

And just like that, Redmar closed the door. Eli's fist pumped, cheering. He turned to the group, his face lit up like the fourth of July.

Edward’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe that worked.”

Oliver shakily stood up, his voice wavering. “Guys, I’m not so sure about this....”

Eli brushed his concerns to the side with a snort. “Dude, we have Redmar Belle, the guy who does this kind of thing for a living on our side. We’ll be fine.”

Oliver looked worried but nodded.

Katie slipped on her shoe. “Wait, are we going to use weapons? Or are we going without them?”

Eli grinned. “Boy, are you in for a surprise.”

Chapter 3

Redmar threw open the closet with gusto, revealing a massive array of weaponry. There were daggers, swords, guns, anything they wanted.

Redmar walked in and turned to face the kids. “Listen, guys. I’m not going to let you just grab whatever you want. I’m gonna give you what I think will fit you best, and what I think will lower the chance of you hurting yourself.”

Redmar walked into the closet, looking thoughtfully at the weapons. He grabbed a dagger, a shotgun, and some pistols. He very carefully handed out the guns, making sure the kids were being smart with them and gave the dagger to Eli and nothing to Edward.

Hailee, upon offered a pistol, shook her head. “I hate weapons.”

Redmar shrugged. “Suit yourself. Everyone ready?”

They nodded.

“Sweet,” Redmar chimed. “We’ll take the truck. Eli and Edward, you boys can sit in the back. Everyone else can sit where they want.”

Oliver shyly raised his shotgun and muttered, “I call the front seat.”

As they walked, Hailee hung back with Edward. “Why didn’t you get a weapon?”

Edward shrugged. “I don’t need one.”

Hailee frowned. “Does it have something to do with why you always wear aviators?”

Edward smirked. “You’ll see.”

The group got out of the truck in silence.  They were in one of the abandoned sectors of the Island, which they had never been in before. The buildings around them were crumbling, almost like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. All around them, plants started to poke their way through the cracks in the asphalt, dandelions and other weeds leading the creeping, floral assault.

Across the way from them was a small, broken-down library. The sign was falling apart, the windows were all broken, the wood was rotting, and the ceiling was partly caved in. A tree, possibly seeking vengeance on the people who had cut down trees to make the books, had begun growing through the building, almost like a natural, unintended turret.

“Where are we?” Hailee near-shouted, stepping out.

Redmar put a finger to his lips. “Not so loud. She can’t know we’re here.”

Edward clicked his tongue once and smiled. “Why?” Ember was now in control.

“Because, Mrs. Warloc,” Redmar began. “From what I understand, my scouts have implied that the one here is a mind-bender, meaning she can control people and their thoughts. So it would be best if she doesn’t know we’re here. Also, we can’t have her escape; this is one we haven’t encountered in several months.”

Eli’s eyes flashed with a mix of incense and fervor. “Then let’s capture the filthy w***e and find her friend that killed Cerise.”

Redmar slapped Eli on the shoulder. “Easy on the language, kiddo.”

Redmar started forward at a slow pace, keeping an ear open. The way Red walked, rolling from heel to toe, was silent. Everyone tried to follow his example, but couldn’t seem to quite get it down.

Upon reaching the door, it was quite evident that something was in there. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound human. It was the sound of wailing, low mumbling and the flipping of pages, an occasional thunk of a book hitting the floor, and laughter. Everyone else was perturbed at best, but Oliver was shaking. Eli and Redmar, however, were perfectly silent and still.

Redmar turned to them as they stood in front of the door, gesturing for them to gather around. “Okay, here’s the plan, crew. We go in and split up; Katie and Eli, take the left side. Edward and Hailee, go to the right. Oliver, you’re with me. Stay low, stay quiet, and follow the noise. If you find her, use these.”

Redmar pulled out five small, blinking devices. “Put these in your ear. Upon pressing the button, it will notify all of us that you’ve found her. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Good,” Redmar said, taking his ring off his finger. “Stay safe.”

Redmar stepped aside and gestured to Edward and Hailee. They slowly went in, making as little noise as possible. Redmar then gestured to Eli and Katie, who went in next.

Eli and Katie traipsed silently through the library, the sounds of their target seemingly all around them. The library was rather large: there were two floors, all packed with rows upon rows of bookshelves. All rows of books were connected into a central hub, where most of the books were lying on the floor. This was most likely due to the sobbing maniac and their strange studying tactics. Katie, who looked bored, started picking up books and reading them as soon as she and Eli entered one of the book aisles on the left.

Eli turned to ask Katie a question, but she wasn’t there. He turned and rolled his eyes when he saw what she was doing. “What are you doing?”

Katie put a finger to her lips. “Come read with me.”

Eli furrowed his brow. “Are you crazy?”

Katie shook her head. “I just don’t want to be killed by whatever that noise is coming from.”

Eli rolled his eyes. “Come on Katie, I don’t have time for this.”

Katie gently set down the book she was reading and pulled one off the shelf. Her eyes widened upon opening it. “Eli, come look at this!”

Eli sighed and walked over. As he approached, he realized why she wanted him to come over: The book had beautiful pages: it looked like shimmering mother of pearl, and the light reflecting off the pages moved like the waves of the ocean. He reached out to touch it, and when his finger touched the page, black ink began to flow from the point of contact. It performed twists and dives across the page, forming into letters as it flew. Once the glyphs came to rest, it said:

I am your best shot at avenging Oliver.

Eli frowned. “What does it mean?”

Katie raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“The words on the page,” he muttered. “I don’t get it.”

“What words?”

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard throughout the library, followed by a scream. The earpieces Eli and Katie started speaking to them, giving them GPS-like directions. They started running, but before they could exit into the main foyer, a blur ran past them. Close behind it was Edward. Eli and Katie ran outside, just in time to see Edward summoning a fireball in his hand and throw it at the figure running away from the library. The person, a woman with purple hair, turned around. She effortlessly dodged the fireball and threw her hand out, which had chains attached to it. Once her arm was fully outstretched, Edward collapsed to the ground in pain, clutching his head.

Eli charged out after her, but she had already turned around and started running as fast as she could from the library; And just like that, she was gone. Eli snarled and threw the dagger he had picked from Redmar’s closet after her, but it just fell to the ground ahead of him with a clatter.

Behind him, he heard his name being shouted. He turned around, still out of breath, and started jogging back. Upon entrance, all he could see in front of him was Oliver.

And he was missing the lower half of his body.  



Chapter 4

Hair falling. The whisper of glass scissor blades gliding across each other. The sound of a hairdresser humming. That was all that could be heard.

The humming stopped and the voice of the hairdresser pierced the silence. “Your hair looks lovely, my queen,” The hairdresser said, her hands shaking and ears folded backward. “I must say, you’re the most beautiful woman in the commonwealth.”

More hair fell to the ground, and the queen chuckled. “There’s no need to butter me up, Rivia. I’m not going to execute you if you mess up my hair, it’s gonna grow back.”

Rivia turned nervously to the figures standing in the doorway, her tail thrashing. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

The queen turned to look at her guards and laughed out loud. “Don’t mind them. I know they could kill you with a single word, but they’re not going to hurt you just as long as you don’t--” The queen gasped.

The scissors had nicked her ear.

Rivia gasped and covered her mouth. “Heisel, I didn’t--”

At this point, the guards started advancing, but Queen Heisel stood up. She threw off the robe protecting her clothes from hair and hissed a strange language at her guards. They backed down and she sighed, touching the wound. “It’s not your fault. I was talking and distracting you, so it’s mine.”

A feeling of dread set over Rivia. “But… your guards.”

Heisel pursed her lips and wiped off the black blood on her finger with a handkerchief. “Yes, I know you’ve heard the legends about my blade tongues. I hate to say it, but they’re right.”

A customer went to enter the shop, but upon seeing the bladetongues, towering figures cloaked in long, steely, dreadlock-like strands of hair (and the queen), they backed away quickly and kept walking. The blade tongues kept what was assumed to be their eyes, little white dots under their “hoods,” locked on Rivia, their gaze unwavering.

Heisel dusted off her street clothes and sighed. “Anyone who hurts, steals, or damages what they protect will die before the next moonrise. And the next moonrise--”

“It’s tomorrow,” Rivia finished, falling to her knees. “Oh, Heisel, have mercy.”

Heisel crouched down, resting her hand on Rivia’s shoulder and looking her in the eyes. “I’ll keep them under control until the moonrise passes, but I can’t promise anything. I’m sorry.”

Heisel turned to the mirror to see her hair and smiled.

She was a short, curvy woman with now short jet black hair and pale skin. She was in her favorite set of street clothes: studded jeans and a v-neck. Her hair was now a short, spiky pixie cut.

She grinned at herself in the mirror. “If it makes you feel any better, I really like what you did with my hair. It looks good.”

Rivia looked up, wiping away a tear. “Really?”

Heisel turned to her and nodded. “Yes, really.”

Rivia smiled. “Thank you.”

Heisel bowed and walked out of the shop. The plaza they stood in was crowded beyond belief. Hundreds of shop owners shouted over each other, trying to get customers.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she turned to her guards. “Have her die in her sleep.”

The guards nodded. Just as Heisel turned to keep walking, someone ran into her, and the Bladetongues locked their eyes on them.

It was a courier. He shrank back but relayed his message. “M-madame Heisel, I have a message regarding the boy.”

Heisel’s eyes widened. “Tell me.”

The courier fiddled with the parchment. “Can we go someplace private?”

Heisel gestured to the bladetongues, and they began whispering. Suddenly they weren’t in the crowded plaza, but instead in a bedroom. Sounds of mugs clinking and laughter could be faintly heard, and the smell of alcohol was in the air.

Heisel took the parchment and opened it, sitting on the bed and patting the space next to her for the courier to sit. As he sat, Heisel was already halfway down the page, her eyes devouring the words.

She spoke, making the courier jump. “He found the book?”

The courier nodded. “That’s all that… uh...”

Heisel looked over, raising an eyebrow and catching the courier with his eyes locked on her cleavage. He started and leaped up when he noticed she was watching him. “That's all that was to be delivered, I should get going.”

Heisel stood up, and sauntered sexily towards the courier, grabbing him gently by the jaw and pulling him in. Just as she was about to put her lips to his, she threw him onto the bed and had a glassy dagger to his throat.

She leaned in close. “I understand the circumstances we’re in cause sexual tension, but you can at least show respect to your queen.”

The courier started nodding furiously, sweating heavily. “Yes, my queen.”

Heisel pocketed her dagger, smiling and getting off the courier and offering him a hand up. He smacked her hand away and ran out of the room. Heisel stood shocked for a second, then turned to her bladetongues and nodded. They spread their arms, whispering harshly and swooping out of the room after the courier.

Heisel opened the letter again, reading it carefully. She pulled out the dagger again, a wicked sai-like blade of black glass with white, brown, and black jewels in the hilt, and slashed it through the air, twirling it skillfully. A rift opened in front of her, and she stepped through, and suddenly she was in her castle. She walked over to a window, looking out across the massive city of Alailahk. She grinned.

“Katie, you clever girl.”

Author's Note

This is a work in progress. That being said, please point out any problems that need to be addressed.