Pure Darkness

Prologue

Anatras are dark, evil creatures. They are horrendous by nature. They live secretly among mortals, with a normal face. Although, when needed, they may become their abhorring, appalling, atrocious selves. When this happens, you would be better off without your sight. Their hair becomes fire. Their eyes turn red, their skin purple. Their mouth is red like blood, and fangs could seep into you at any minute. They were a true nightmare. Of course, only if you think about them.

When the Anatras first came to earth, the Greek gods were devastated. They were vandalizing and demolishing the earth at every chance they got. The gods wanted to get rid of them, and send them back to where they came from. The gods tried to destroy their race, but the Anatras were much too strong. The gods needed to work together, and do as much as they could. If they could not kill the race, they would have to find a way to keep the Anatras from harming the earth. Each of them put a different curse or spell on them, for example, the greek goddess of safety, Soteria, put a curse on them preventing them from ever causing grief to mortals. The goddess of earth, Gaia, put a spell on them so that they could never hurt nature of the planet again. Now the gods had time on their side, but how much?

Since that day, the Anatras have been growing stronger and stronger, while studying for the exact day when they would finally take over again. After many years, they finally gathered a plan that would give them complete control of the world, as long as every Anatras agreed to this plan, they could cast a spell that would break both curses. If Anatras did not agree to this, they could be a threat, which was not wanted, so they would be killed. Or worse.

A Figure in the middle of the Road

He knew, that on a day like this, anything was possible. He didn't care. It was the only way he could save his brother from going light. "The light side is stodgy. Nothing ever happens there. Mortals are unavailing, and they don't deserve to run this world. The dark does!" Ethan had once told his brother. Ethan knew his brother was strong, and had the ability to choose his side. Ethan was the only one who could stop him from going light. There wasn't much time. The dark side needed Ethan's brother, Duncan. He was very potent, and was the final piece to making the world dark once and for all. Ethan headed to the woods to talk about his brother to the other Anatras. A nervous sweat broke down on him.

The Anatras found that Duncan was a threat to them. He grew up with mortals, and the Anatras felt like he was becoming one. In a way, this was true. He was not like any other Anatras. His teeth were not pointy. His skin was not purple. Instead of fire as hair, he only had smoke. The Anatras decided to kill him, but he was very strong, and since Ethan loved and cared for Duncan as a brother, he knew this, and he was able to talk the Anatras out of killing him. "He is a very powerful Anatra, and will be of great use to us." said Ethan.

"Very well then. We shall keep him with us." said the lead Anatras, Obadias. "but if anything goes wrong, you will pay along with Duncan." His large, hollow black eyes pierced through Ethan's mind. With his eyes, the lead Anatras, Obadias, seemed to know everything about Ethan, like a dark,evil search engine. I guess you could say that his eyes were another version of Google. Right now, Ethan knew that he had no chance. Once you say it, you have to go with it. I have to convince Duncan or else I'm dead meat, He thought.

"You have until his 30th birthday to train him. By then, he should be like one of us. Not one of those wretched creatures who think this world is theirs." The Anatras, one by one disappeared in a puff of smoke, and they were all gone, a mere shadow in the light.

* * *

Olivia sat in the seat at the back of the classroom. She was the kind of student that payed no attention to the teacher in class, and instead played Angry Birds on her phone all period, yet gets miraculously high grades. She was an eighteen year old girl. She had long blonde hair that reached a little bit beyond her shoulders, making just a little bit longer than normal. Her aqua-marine blue eyes went great with her hair. She was very smart, and likeable. Not that she was liked or anything. Of course, she had one flaw. She was curious. Now usually, that was not a bad thing, but Olivia was going to be on an adventure, a dangerous mission, where curiosity really could kill the cat, or in this case, Olivia.

"Class dismissed!" the teacher announced, loudly. Olivia collected her books, and walked out of the classroom.

Olivia struggled with her books as she walked over to her locker. As always, she was the only one who was talking to nobody. Her only friend, Deepika, was absent. Although Deepika was not the smartest, she was a great friend. Deepika, otherwise known as Dee, was home with the flu. Olivia and Dee were not best friends. Olivia had no best friends. Even though Olivia liked Dee, Dee's best friend was someone else. And though Olivia thought it was okay to have more than one best friend, Deepika's friend did not think so. Today, Olivia had not even Dee to talk to. Olivia stood out in the hallway. She was the only one who did not wear those loom bands for six-year-olds, but hairbands on her wrist. She did not wear high heels, but flip flops, even though that wasn't allowed. Most important, she did not care about how she looked because there was nobody for her to impress. Olivia was still beautiful, but the kind of beautiful that didn't require her to try. She did not wear eye shadow. She did not wear lipstick. She did not wear mascara. She did not care.

The leaves twirled, and made a mini tornado that blew around her, enveloping her in cold wind. This was a sign that great power was near. The trees shuttered as if they could sense it. Olivia walked out of the school, fishing for the keys to her car in her pocket. When she found them, she got into her old, rusty car, and drove down Fortload Street.  

Olivia was only halfway down the street, when she saw a black figure in a suit wearing a tie. He had his arms up, in front of him, and was muttering something in Greek.

"What the heck!" Olivia's hands shook and twisted the steering wheel in different directions. To her surprise, the car slowly moved to the side of the road, and stopped, abruptly, as if it was pushed by some invisible force. She took a closer look at the person standing on the road. She listened closely to what he was saying.

emfanizontai protou mau

ola ischyros exousia

angeliaforos tou kako

ego minyma gia eseis

Appear before me

all mighty power

messenger of evil

I have a message for you

         

What kind of gibberish is he speaking? Olivia thought. She leaned forward to get a better look. She was always too curious. Olivia watched as a puff of smoke appeared beside the figure. It was the same gray colored smoke that replaced the hair of the figure. The figure pulled out an odd looking envelope from his pocket, and the smoke sucked it in like a vacuum. The silhouette saluted to the smoke and as fast as the smoke had come, it disappeared. The silhouette turned and faced Olivia, and within seconds, they were face to face. Olivia could not describe the horror of the silhouette.

The one and only Sontid

Olivia could now see the creature standing in the middle of the road like a lunatic clearly. His mouth was red as if he had just eaten seven cherry popsicles. Olivia had a doubt in the back of her head that this was blood. (Even though this was too thick and red for it to be blood. Maybe ketchup?) Olivia's eyes were locked on his elongated fangs. If you were to (possibly) imagine him without any of this, he would look to be about twenty. There was black smoke arising from his head, where his hair was supposed to be.

He smiled, looking relieved to see her. "Great!" he said. "Move over, and let me drive." His voice was a horrendously loud sonic wave of sound. It tore through Olivia's head, as if crashing into then breaking a wall made out of bricks. Olivia was in shock. She was shaking. Slowly, she moved over to the passenger seat. Olivia did not know what to think. Was she being kidnapped? Olivia was so overcome by a power of fear that she was immobilized.

"Wh-Wh-Who are you?" Olivia asked. Her voice was shaky, and it sounded like a trill of the flute. Olivia wanted to call the police, but she was still curious, and wanted to know more. Olivia was always too curious.

"It depends," He smiled revealing his fangs that looked like they could cut through titanium. "When you ask this question, do you mean to ask me my name or my species? It is okay. I will tell you both. My name is Duncan, and I am an Anatra. I am a dark creature, but I lived with humans, or mortals, as my species call you. I try to be as nice as possible. I don't like to be rude, but I needed transportation! Hence, I needed to take your car. I am sorry you had to come along, but I could not leave you alone like this." He sounded like an adult, but Olivia could tell that he was at most two years older than her. She tried her best to ignore the fact that he looked nothing like a human being.

"Why?" Olivia was lost.

"Because of that," Duncan turned the rear view mirror to reveal a creature that looked like a werewolf. It was black, and had the same red mouth as Duncan.

Olivia jumped. She grabbed the handle of the door, and held on tight. She shut her eyes tightly, and tried to think about her physics test tomorrow. Anything but this.

The Anatra exhaled. He now looked like a regular man. There was no more smoke, and his mouth looked perfectly fine. He wore a simple black t-shirt, and  faded denim jeans. Olivia was amazed at what an effect this had on him. He now looked like a teenager, just like Olivia. Except this only made it worse. More thoughts arose in Olivia's mind now more than ever. Dark thoughts that usually hide in deep crevices of the mind. He turned to Olivia.

"Where do you live?" He asked. "I'll drop you off at your house. Then again, we might be awhile." Duncan looked back at the creature. "Might I please speak to your father, miss?" These simple words struck Olivia like a blow to the face.

"I don't have one." She responded, paying absolutely no attention to the situation they were in. "He died, when I was two." She started playing with the zipper on her backpack, not making eye-contact with this strange being. Why did I just tell him that? Olivia thought. She was very secretive about this. She had never told anyone like this. There was never anyone to tell.

"That is a tragic situation." he seemed to be looking right through Olivia. Suddenly, the creature that was chasing them jumped on the car. Olivia was no longer in another world. Adrenaline coursed through her like blood.

"GO FASTER, FASTER!" Olivia yelled.

"I'm sorry, but Anatras don't know how to drive. Your see, we mainly disappear. I'll show you that later if we survive." Duncan paused. "That's it!"

Duncan struggled with the wheel, and Olivia wouldn't stop screaming. The car jerked to a stop, and was now lying perfectly fine across the road, as if nothing had happened. For a moment, everything was silent, and for only a moment, Olivia was worried. Not about her or the car, but for Duncan. She didn't know why. The guy was clearly a lunatic, but there was something about him that she couldn't identify.

This only lasted for a second. Mostly because immediately after the car stopped, the werewolf that was chasing them began growling furiously at them. The Anatra got out of the car, and stood directly in front of the werewolf like a barrier to Olivia. For a moment, he looked like as if he would pull out a rubber bone and play fetch and ditch, something Olivia often did with the scary neighbor's dog.

But instead, he shouted something in Greek towards the creature.

Pigaino Piso na o ypokosmos

plasma tou o nekros

Go back to the underworld,

creature of the dead!

A green light flashed out of his hand, and he was clenching his teeth. It was truly amazing. Olivia no longer felt as scared, but impressed. This was not surprising, for Olivia was very brave. Olivia stood there in astonishment, as the creature slowly began to turn into a dark mist. It was slowly evaporating into thin air, until it was not visible at all.  Immediately after the creature was gone, the stormy skies cleared, and the sun came out again. The green light coming out of Duncan's hands vanished, leaving everything still. Like a mirage.

Olivia began to wonder why she ever was scared. There was no reason to be. Now she was back to normal. Her normal, brave, curious self. Yet, she still needed answers. She was about to ask Duncan when he interrupted.

"We don't have much time. We must leave now." Duncan looked worried. "I will drop you off. I have some urgent work to attend to."

Olivia started walking towards her car. "You seem nice, but I think I will just forget about this. I am going home, and you are NOT coming in my car again."

"W-W-Wait!" Duncan walked to Olivia.

He lifted his hand, and touched her arm. Olivia was flinched away, not wanting to touch someone who just vanquished a werewolf with some sort of magic. In a flash of light, Olivia flew up into the air, pink smoke encircling her. Duncan had a wide smile, the kind a crazy stalker would make.  "What did you do?" she asked. She began to feel faint. Was this really happening? What was he doing to her? Her curiosity died. She slowly drifted to the ground, like a feather floating through the air.

"I gave you power. You are now a sontid. It is my gift to you for helping me with your car." Was he an idiot? Was he escaping from a Mental Asylum?

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Olivia was sure this guy was crazy. She wanted to walk away from all this right now. She knew her mom was probably already worried sick. Yet, as I mentioned before, Olivia was TOO curious. She took a deep breath, and continued,

"A sontid?" she asked, regretting the words right after she said them.

"A powerful light creature. I can tell you all about it in the car." he sighed. "Now come, Olivia." How did he know my name? "I will drop you off at home, but I need to keep your car for a little while.. Maybe I could drop it off tom--"

"NO! First tell me what your urgent work is!" Olivia did not know why she said it. She did not know how she said it. She only knew that she meant it. She also did not know that these words would change everything. Nothing would be the same again. But for the better, Olivia did not know.

The First Threat

Claudia lifted up the phone, one inch from her ear. He could threaten her as much as he wanted, but it would not affect her. What did Ilek want? The dusty dark green book lay still across her lap, taunting her, with its constant intolerable shine. There was a moment of still silence that finished her. Her heart pounded louder and clearer than Ilek's voice. Everything flashed before her, but she did not notice. Her breath was softer than the pure silence when she finally spoke.

" H-h-hello?" Claudia held a tight grasp on the book. He would not get it. He would not. She would never let go, No matter how many threats he made, she would not give it up. She was too close to the end to give up now.

Ilek spoke in a rough, low voice. It pierced through the stillness of the room. " Claudia, you are sour as a lime. Remember, you are running out of time. Don't be late. You still need to decide your final fate." Ilek's thick British accent tore through Claudia's mind. She told herself not to be frightened. His powers were weak. She was much more powerful than he. Now she was stronger than ever. Now she was a real trismos. Still, for some reason, Ilek frightened her. If she could get the books faster than him, everything would be solved. His stupid riddles would not be heard ever again.

The phone was off before Claudia could even respond. She placed it on the desk, and held the book. There were only three more to get. The red one, the blue one, and the black one. Time could not be wasted.







Thomason Gray sat at his cluttered desk, with a canvas in front of him. When would inspiration hit? He would never draw her again. That was his biggest mistake. The color of art with the color of her soul would never match. They were two from different worlds. Wanda could never again make Thomason happy. Thomason's mind shifted back to his drawing. He picked up his paintbrush just as he heard the knock at the door. Bang. Bang. Bang. It fell through his mind, like a spell. The knock of the killer.







Claudia was not forced to kill Thomason. Not this time. He was lucky that he was not killed the mortal way. It was only a simple spell. He knew too much. She enjoyed killing him. It brought a big smile to her face. It was too bad she left the body there.







The detective, Raymond Thompson, arrived early, as always. Raymond Thompson was a perfectionist. Raymond was professional, and you would never find him without a pen in his pocket. He was the kind of person that carried around twenty dollar pens as if always waiting for someone to ask for his autograph. He never went by Ray. He only went by Raymond. Steven Gourd was his best friend.

Steven Gourd never left without a pen in his pocket either, but this was for another reason. Steven Gourd was a bestselling mystery author. He was the one who got autographs. His secretary was a weak, silent woman. She only obeyed what her boss said, and her life revolved around this. The only problem was that he was a stuck-up, selfish, brat. His writings were pure genius, and nobody knew how somebody like him could write things like that. Steven came here to get a good scoop on the murder. He thought this would be a great prompt for a story. His biggest mistake.

Steven Gourd and Raymond Thompson were best friends since sixth grade. They weren't the perfect match. Raymond could never realize that Steven Gourd was just taking advantage of Raymond. Using him to get into the crime scenes, then making a million dollars off the books. His success came from Raymond, but all Steven ever did to Raymond was hold him back, acting like he actually cared.

The three arrived at the crime scene where the body was. Claudia sneaked in behind them. The four saw the body, in the middle of the room, hanging from a hook.

"He was hung?" asked the police officer standing next to him.

"Pretty obvious!" replied the witness.

"You were at your garden when you saw it, right?" The police officer scribbled in his notebook so fast, as if he was not actually writing anything.

Claudia moved forward, so she could hear. Had he seen what she did? She hoped not. Perhaps it was time for yet another murder. Claudia didn't care. Anything to keep the book safe. Anything to get the other books.

Claudia inched forward, the death spell repeating in her mind. The conversation became clearer.

"Yes. There was a girl. I am sure it was Wanda. She was the only girl in his life." The witness nodded repeatedly.

"You only saw the shadow, right?" The police officer looked up from his notebook.

"That's correct." The witness tried to peek over at the notebook, but the detective turned it away like he was trying to hide something.

"Can you tell me a bit about Wanda?" The officer asked.

The witness grabbed a chair, and sat. " Wanda married Tom when he was about twenty four as I remember. They were perfect and they loved each other. Tom painted her, and she modeled. Then, one day, nothing was the same. They fought. They yelled, and they could not even be in the same room together." The police officer was scribbling at top speed. "One day, they realized that they were not for each other, and they divorced. After that day, he vowed never to draw her again. He kept that promise."

"But how does this connect to why you think this was suicide?" Claudia exhaled. Looks like he would live.

"After he stopped drawing her, his inspiration died. He lost all motivation. Art was his life. When he lost Wanda, he lost art. When he lost art, he lost life." The witness got up from his seat, and the police officer closed his notebook.

Claudia vanished in a bolt of green lightning.  Wanda was about to be paid a visit.

Into the Forest

         

Olivia's whole life had just changed, but she didn't seem to care. She felt bad for yelling at Duncan.  For some reason, it felt familiar, being a sontid. It felt comfortable, like she had some connection to it. It felt like Deja Vu. The biggest reason was her curiosity and bravery. As you could see, she has a different type of curiosity. She would have normally said no, but she needed to find out who this creature was and where he was going.

She sat in the passenger seat of the car, as if this was all normal. She knew it was not. It was awkward to her. Really awkward. She recalled what happened to her in not even a day. A boy had asked for her car, and as a result, she was a "light creature." She was not going to be referred to like this. Is this some sort of trick? Olivia thought. A part of her still wanted to go home and forget all about this. She did not know what the heck a sontid was, or if Duncan was even telling the truth. She was going to find out. Soon enough.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" Olivia turned to Duncan, and gave a you're joking face that Duncan didn't see.

"I just gave you all the light I had. Now I'm dark, once more. In order to become light, I must get to an orb of light which lies in an ancient temple in Rome. To get there, we must overcome many obstacles that are not easy. That creature back there was only the start." I think I need to take him to a mental asylum, Olivia thought.

"To tell the truth, I didn't make you a sontid to thank you for the car. I made you a sontid because only a sontid can cast the spell to release the orb of light. I could not just give power to anyone. I found you trustworthy, and so I chose you. I had to give all of the light inside of me to you. When you go there, you will exchange that light for the orb. The rest will be decided by the gods." He finds me trustworthy? Duncan was rambling a bit, but Olivia understood. It was making a bit more sense to Olivia now, and she was thinking, Maybe I should help him.

"Why does it have to be so hard?" Olivia asked, wilting at the thought of all the work.

"Well, the Greek gods only want power on there side, so if you can overcome these obstacles, you are clearly worthy of being on the light side. If you don't get killed, of course." Duncan flashed a wicked smile that Olivia didn't know Duncan was capable of. She figured he was kidding.

Olivia noticed how Duncan always spoke in complete sentences, like someone from Britain, except he was a Anatra, a mixture of roman, greek, and latin. Duncan had told her this. She remembered what she had seen before. How he killed that weird creature. Not killed, for Duncan was too nice to kill, probably. And he made her a sontid. A dark creature of death made her something the opposite of darkness. That made her a little uneasy, but being a sontid was like eating sunshine. It made her warm and nice inside. It  gave her a meaning to life. Just this day, Olivia was following the same old path, that others take so much. Now she was paddling up the river of Life. She was going to be different She knew this joyful feeling could not be fake. She was never so happy in her life. Never since her father died, so long ago.

She liked how Duncan was so much like a regular person, and a mysteriously dangerous creature at the same time. He spoke a few languages just like a normal person. Olivia was convinced. About what, she did not now, but this Duncan figure seemed real at least.

The car passed a row of pale pink cherry blossom trees. They lined up on both sides, and formed a path. It was a beautiful path. Olivia had come down this road once. She remembered how she felt before she got used to the plain-same-oldness. With all the pressure of her studies in high school, and outside of high school, with deciding which colleges to apply to and which to not, she had wished she could be a cherry blossom tree. A beautiful cherry tree, which elegant branches danced in the wind. They don't have get up at five in the morning, and stay up until two thirty a.m studying. Their life was simple and carefree.

"What exactly does a sontid do?"  Olivia had been wondering the whole time.

"Sontids can run really fast, like er, superspeed. They are also good at making decisions. Even in the toughest times, they know exactly what to do. Also they have incantations for EVERYTHING, You just have to know how to use them. They also control the weather, but I am not a sontid, so I do not know how to do this."

Olivia was absorbed in their conversation. She wanted to learn more about this odd species. From what he had told her, being a sontid was pretty cool. She could not wait to try it. "Are sontids more powerful than Anatras?" Olivia asked.

"Well, they are not more powerful, but they are creatures of the sun. This means, well, they can only be light. Also, they can only use incantations." Duncan's eyes were locked on the road.

"Wait. If you have no more light inside of you, then that means you are completely dark. How are you still good?" Olivia had a doubt in her mind that he wasn't.

"True light cannot be just be thrown away with a single spell." Duncan did not realize that he was just complimenting himself. Olivia didn't care.

He pulled out his leather bag, and took out a red book. It was old and tattered. On the cover, were weird symbols in a language Olivia did not know. It was dusty, and seemed like it had never been used. He handed it to Olivia.

"What is it?" Olivia asked. She reached out and took it from Duncan's hands.

"A book of all the incantations sontids can use." Duncan replied. "If you are going through with this, then you are going to need it. He opened to a random page and held it out. It was written in Greek and Latin. Olivia studied Latin, so she could understand it. Her fingers wrapped around the cold book. She blew the dust off of the book, and stuffed it in her backpack.







The car pulled over at a biking trail that was full of wood chips. On the right side was a clear trail, and on the left was a pitch black forest that not even the sun could light up.

"Why are we here?" Olivia asked. "I thought you said the temple was in Rome." He smiled a wide smile, which showed his teeth. They were no longer pointy.

"This is a shortcut." Duncan said. "Oh yeah! For now, I think it would be better if you called me Dunc."

They got out of the car, and shut the doors. Duncan began walking down the road, sorry Dunc began walking down the road. Olivia followed a few feet behind him, hesitantly. Just what she thought. They were going into the forest. What Olivia failed to think about is how they were going to get to Rome without the car, a boat, or any means of transportation except their feet? It was impossible to tell whether she was just not thinking about this question, and it never came upon her mind, or if she refused to answer it. Either way, she could not turn back. This was final, and she knew it. As they walked into the forest, the sun faded, until there was barely any light left. Pure dark.

The Second Book

Claudia's high heels tapped fiercely on the stairs of Wanda's porch. Her dark red lipstick reflected on the sun as well as her snow white gum. She spit it out in the grass. Bang. Bang. Bang. She knocked on the door. Nobody came. Bang. Bang. Bang. She knocked again, and instead of someone opening it, the door slowly swung open, by itself, revealing a dark, hollow room. She stepped in and the door closed behind her. Curiously, she stepped forward.

The walls of the room were tall and wide. It seemed as though they never ended. The room was large, and there was no light. Claudia felt the wall for a light switch. When she found it, she flipped it, and a dim light shone in the center, revealing the grim room. But nothing was as grim as the motionless body on the floor.

A beautiful girl with long blonde hair lay dead on the ground. She was wearing a uniform for a high class jewelry shop, "Diamond and Ruby," and the nametag said Wanda. The room was completely empty except for the everstill body.

Claudia was about to turn around and back away when she heard something coming from downstairs. She froze, with her finger up, ready to cast a spell. The footsteps of the intruder thudded on the stairs. From the doorway, a black shadow appeared. Through it, stepped a man. Claudia immediately began reciting the spell. The man held up his arm briefly, then put it down and shrugged.

"Go ahead, trismos. Kill me." Claudia was confused. How does he know I'm a trismos? "What are you waiting for?" His hands stayed beside him.

"What are you? An anatra, warlock, goblin?" Claudia pursed her lips.

"Goblin?" The man took a step forward, and Claudia's hand went back up. "Am I really that ugly?" He gave a wide, obnoxious smile.

"It would be best for you to answer me. I can kill you in one point." She twitched her finger at him.

"Fine. Fine. I am a trismos, and my name is Kondomo." His smile quickly returned to his face as he continued speaking," I'm sure you are here for the same reason. You want the book, right?" Suddenly, he held out his hand and a fast bolt of electricity shot out, at Claudia. "You're not getting it." She did an amazing flip, and the electricity missed her by half an inch. She looked back at where he once stood, but he was gone. What the heck? she thought.

Claudia flashed herself downstairs. She turned around,and saw Kondomo standing and watching her as if she was powerless. She pulled up her hand, finger pointing out.

"Okay! W-w-w-wait! What if I just walk away, and never speak to you again? You wont be bothered." He began walking.







The police officer stood at Wanda's house. The body of Wanda at his feet. Once again Raymond Thompson, along with Steven Gourd and his secretary had arrived as well. The police officer had asked Steven to leave and "get a life", but Steven was stubborn. He stayed, and annoyed the police.

"I can see that the killer is not Wanda." said the police officer.







Claudia got home, and sat at her desk. Why don't I just destroy the entire human race? All my problems would diminish. Claudia thought. She had spared Kondomo this time, but if he ever bothered her again, he was dead. Hopefully, she would only have to kill the good, and never the bad. Well, typically, the bad was good.

The thick glass of red wine shook as she held it. It was as red as blood. This pleased her. Her fingers wrapped around the cold glass, as she picked it up. Her pale white skin was as smooth as the glass itself. Her Covergirl lipstick left a red smudge on the glass where she drank. I didn't kill Wanda. Claudia smiled. She was on the clear. Now she could focus on the books. She remembered what Kondomo had said. Was one book at Wanda's house? She doubted it. Impossible. Wanda wasn't even a trismos. Only Thomason was a wizard. Only he could have the book, but he was dead now. How did Wanda get it? Either way, Claudia would look there. Anything to get her closer to finding the books.

Ethan Joins the Party

As they made their way through the woods, Olivia felt a cool breeze. It tickled her neck like someone was breathing on her. She jumped and turned around, but saw nobody. She realized how stupid she was being, and continued walking.

She could not believe how the day had changed. Just this morning, she had been the girl in the back of the classroom, and basically, her life. She was never really noticed. Of course, she had exceptionally good grades, but they were not amazing. She was ... Average. Not anymore. Now she was a sontid. Now she was different. She would stand out among the rest, and never be the same. This would only work if she came out of this alive.

         It was weird, the amount of thoughts occurring at one time in Olivia's head. Olivia had never experienced this before. Her mother had always told her one thing. Just go. This was what Olivia was doing, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded when her mother had said it. She tried to think about the science test next week, and the new kid in her class. No use, she thought. She wished she could just turn around, and avoid anything dangerous. That wasn't going to happen. This was only the beginning. Olivia could feel it in her bones.

While they were walking through the forest, Olivia tried to focus on the wildlife. The birds, the trees, and the river. Soon enough, she was bored again. She was looking for something that was not there. This forest was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. She had to squint to see anything, and there were no birds.

As she walked through the forest, she remembered what she had seen before all this started. The envelope Duncan had handed to that creature. Soon enough, her curiosity crawled back into her head.

         "What was that thing you handed to that creature before?" Olivia blurted out without thinking.

         Dunc kept his eyes on the trail, and said, "That was a letter to my brother, Ethan. I told him I was going light, and he could join me if he wants. Unlikely, he was born for the dark. Our relationship is actually quite complicated. I love him, and know that he is truly light. I just wish he could come to his senses." He suddenly stopped as if he couldn't believe what he had just said. Olivia knew Dunc did not want a response to what he had said. She kept her eyes on the road, and walked with Dunc, awkwardly.









Ethan sat in the woods, waiting for Duncan to arrive for his training lesson. Scheduled at three thirty, He thought. He was starting to lose hope. Would Duncan show up? Could he have gone to the light side? No. Ethan did not want to think about it.      

He got up, and began walking around the woods, lost in thoughts. He was still staring into the woods when the messenger, Angeliaforos Tou Kako, appeared, in a puff of smoke. Ethan could see the smoke, and a smile spread across his face. He turned around, and said, "Duncan!" But when he turned he saw not what he expected.Ethan watched as Angeliaforos Tou Kako fumbled through his bag for the letter from Duncan. Ethan's smile turned into a frown.

The messenger pulled out a clean white envelope. As he handed it to Ethan, he was already fading away.

         As Ethan stared at the note, his eyes popped, and he felt like he was being choked. He had lost his brother to the light. He would probably never see Duncan ever again. Ethan knew he loved Duncan. As he thought about this, he realized something. Dark creatures cannot love! They are incapable of it. Without even thinking, Ethan was gone in a puff of smoke, to his brother. Love for his brother overcame everything.







         Within seconds, Ethan had already caught up to Duncan and Olivia. As soon as Duncan saw the smoke, he said, "Ethan, I will not join the dark. I am born for the light." He did not even turn around. He knew it was his brother, and he was right.

         Ethan responded quietly, "SSH! THe other Anatras will hear us. Now come, we must hurry if we want to make it to Rome before dark!"

         Duncan smiled a huge smile, and turned around. He gave his brother a big hug.

         "I see you have found a sontid. Is she worthy?"

         "Or course! Personally, I think she would be a help even if she was not a sontid." Olivia smiled.

"Who are you" Olivia asked Duncan, and he explained in detail.

The Killer

The detective arrived after Claudia at Wanda's house. Raymond Thompson was not the kind of detective to find information, and then run to the police to tell them. First, he solves the case, then he tells. When he saw Wanda laying there in front of him, he decided to figure out where to go next. He examined the body, but found no blood or wounds. Must've been a poisoning, He thought. He looked at the nametag on the uniform she was wearing. Diamond and Ruby. That was where he would go next.







Claudia did not have to go. She was off the hook. She no longer had anything to do with the case. Still, as she sat at her desk, chewing on her mint gum, she felt a necessity to figure out who did it. She had already checked the entire house, but she found no book. Maybe she would find something at the store.







Raymond walked into the store at the same time as Claudia, but Raymond did not recognize Claudia. Although, Claudia could recognize