A/N: It is demanded of me to write an author's note every time. It is due to my dear friends Kitty and Fin (yes, the same names as the characters in the story) that I am roped into a sequel.

Being Chapter the First

~RR~

A dark figure padded down the dark street, with only the flickering overhead lamps to guide his way. It was a picture perfect neighborhood. Almost every other house was set up with a white picket fence and painted a pastel. Ipswich had changed since he had last been on Earth. Gone were many of the large gothic estates and in its place were suburban cul-de-sacs.

Caleb let down the hood from his head, letting him see properly in the abandoned street. Deeming it safe that he was alone, he decided to unhook his cloak completely and seem less conspicuous. The last thing he needed was to be reported as a robber.

According to his memory, he knew was on the right street, standing before the right house. As if he needed further assurance, he could see his old friend Tyler through the broad living room window. He seemed to be closing all lights for the night. Kitty appeared through the wall of the kitchen, helping him out by closing the light on her way through. Tyler seemed so happy, smiling at her and holding her close. As their kisses became fervent, he closed the final light of the house and headed out of sight.

Caleb let out a deep sigh. He hated to pull Tyler and Kitty away from their perfect little life, back into the world of turmoil. But he was here for a reason, and he wouldn't be here unless it was vital.

Thus, Caleb opened his mailbox and slid the Guild letter inside. Taking a final sigh as he closed the black box back up, he raised the little red flag and went on his way.

~RR~

Sarah Wenham adjusted her glasses after a long day's work. She let out a deep sigh as she rubbed the small of her back. Lifting and organizing the books in the library was really starting to wear on her body. Surprisingly, there was no rain on this cold night, giving the broad room an eerie silence. Closing up shop in the dark place, she heard her cell phone start ringing just as she was locking the foggy-glassed doors. She juggled her cell phone out of her purse, while trying to hold a book bag, a broom and a dustpan in her other hand.

"Hi, honey," she said with a familiar fondness. "Yes, I'm just closing up shop now… I don't know, you want take-out again?"

She walked down the empty hallway, her flat shoes making minimal noise as she headed to the storage hall to put the janitor's tools back where she found them. That when she fell a strange breeze rush by her. A quick jerk of the head and she spotted the figure walking calmly through the door of one of the lesser-used storage closets.

"Caleb?"

Sarah rushed to the same door, opening it quickly.

Only to find an empty closet with some very dusty old mops and brooms. She put her broom and dustpan down among them, and inspected every possible corner of the tiny square room. No one, from top to bottom, was in here but her.

Sarah took a moment to figure out if she had really seen what her eyes had told her she had seen. Her common sense told her to forget it. Her curiosity told her she had better remember. Her curiosity always won out.

Closing the closet door behind her, she took a mental note of the door number. Storage closet number eighty-eight. Taking a closer look at the number, she could see that it wasn't like the other closet doors. She could slide the metal number aside, to reveal a whole new keyhole underneath. Why would the door need two locks? Spotting some charred marks around the doorknob, like something had burned around it, Sarah was certain… This would not be the last she saw of this closet.

~RR~

The following morning, a face, petite and fair, appeared around the corner, peering carefully into the empty hallway. She was a small child, barely the age of six, all reminiscent of infancy with eyes like that of fawn. An older face joined her in spying, that of a bright-eyed young man, handsome and childish in features to match the girl beside him.

"All clear?" Tyler asked his daughter. She giggled and nodded at her father. Tyler clutched her tiny hand in his, and led her along the pathway. He spared a glance over his shoulder to make sure the rest of their party was following, including his cherished wife, and his adored younger daughter, incapable of walking on her own two feet even though she was long past crawling age.

On the face of the daughter attached to his hand, spread pure joy and excitement. His firstborn, little April, loved visiting the other side like a child would Disneyland. It was a trip not often ventured, but when it was, it was savored. His youngest, the second born, was utterly her mother's mini-me. Those big blues killed him, those chubby cheeks begged to be pinched, that smile made his chest sing. Little Rosie's face danced with laughter, echoing the excitement of those around her even though she really had no idea what was going on. The drool coming down the side of her mouth made her seem all the more oblivious.

His heart swelled with love for his children, but he had to admit the excitement of visiting the other side was not limited to the young ones. Exchanging final smiles with Kitty, he stopped before storage closet number eighty-eight.

"It's been so long," Kitty breathed happily.

"Yeah…" Tyler agreed. "Too long."

He surveyed the door, the charred handle, the scratched surface of the wood, the faded paint. How it had aged with the passing years. Then he looked back to his wife.

"You ready to go in?" he asked.

Kitty bit her lip and shifted in her stance.

"Do you think they just called us cuz they missed us?"

Tyler gave her a sympathetic smile, and shook his head no.

"We've talked about this, Kit," he said in an apologetic voice. "Is it ever just a friendly visit when they call us back over? I don't think so, hon."

Kitty nodded, taking another deep breath.

"Okay, I'm ready."

The family disappeared through the door, tiny flashes of light escaping through the small cracks in the spaces still ajar.

~RR~

Sarah seized the opportunity to run, trying to catch the closet door before it shut. She built her speed, reaching her hand out to catch it, but no such luck. The door clicked closed, just as she yanked on the doorknob.

Again, all she found was an empty closet. She was sure of it now. She wasn't crazy. There was something undoubtedly unique about this closet. Caleb was alive, and perhaps in a place beyond what could be seen with the naked eye.

~RR~

Caleb peered out the window of his study, surveying the vast land before him, as Sybilla once had a very long time ago. Often he had wondered if somehow Sybilla could see this view, even though she was blind. Even when she was alive he had wondered this, for how often she would cast her blind gaze out the same exact window. This window was his now. He was new headmaster of this school, the leadership of an unknown world placed upon his shoulders. It was a responsibility he could not begin to undertake, at least not on his own. Fin was the backbone of this country, advising him in his decisions and influencing him in the right direction, and thus, the world had prospered in Roarden's absence. He got the credit, and Aromesia loved him for it, but he knew he owed Fin everything.

The rigors of ruling a world provided a great scapegoat for why he hadn't married yet, in the eight years since Roarden's demise and Caleb's appointing to leadership and leaving earth behind. In all reality, he found himself waiting. Waiting for the grief of Pogue's passing to not clench his lungs, waiting for the right woman to come along, waiting for the public not to mark his every move. He knew he would be waiting for a good long time.

"Caleb," Fin tapped lightly on the study door. "Tyler's here."

Caleb saw that attached firmly to her hand was her young son Hunter, a wild wanderer forever lost to the forest trees. Only Fin seemed able to ever track him down, and that was a sole credit to her power of psychic ability. Otherwise that sneaky child was an untraceable predator living off the land, true to his namesake.

He smirked and followed her down the winding staircase to the lobby below. It had been two years since he had last seen Tyler and his family, and a visit was long overdue. Without the Covenant, he felt like a part of him was missing, that he wasn't whole. He had missed having Reid to mother around, Tyler to watch out for, and Pogue to laugh with. The joy of seeing Tyler arrive with his family was heartwarming, but equal to the heartache. Often, Caleb wondered why he was the last of the Covenant to get married. It was hard to watch Tyler arrive with his two beautiful daughters and Fin always searching for her caveman of a son like a lost pup. However, Caleb knew it was wrong to envy his friends. Covetousness was not a trait that was becoming of a man who had a world at his feet.

Yet, there Tyler stood, with his lovely wife, his picture perfect daughters clinging onto his arms like little monkeys. It was a sight that always made Caleb's heart lurch. Fin ran to April and embraced her fondly, then brought forth her son.

"Go say hi to April, Hunter."

"Hey, what's up, little Tarzan?" Tyler greeted Hunter. Fin laughed at the comment, and the truth behind it. She sometimes wondered if she was raising a son or some sub-species of animal. The wild sense was one he inherited from his father, she assumed. The brunette hair, stern face and strong physique were becoming of his father as well.

Hunter held his head high and boldly strolled over to April in wide steps. April seemed a bit intimidated by him, her hands hidden behind her back and her head bowed.

"Hello, April," Hunter said mechanically.

"Hi," she replied in a small voice. Hunter immediately ran back to his mother.

"Future fiancées already," Tyler muttered under his breath with a teasing smile, and Kitty hit him playfully.

"Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, now."

"Hi, Uncle Caleb..." the oldest, April, said as she timidly shuffled her feet over to the six foot four specimen standing before her.

"Well, hello there," Caleb smiled, folding himself down to her level. "Look how you've grown! You were Rosie's size the last I saw you…"

Being reminded of the other girl, Caleb got up to greet the other child.

"And look at Rosie! She has so much hair now!"

Kitty smiled as the proud mother she was, bouncing Rosie a bit in her arms. Tyler seemed distracted, looking over Caleb's shoulder around the Guild.

"He's not here, Tyler," Caleb said grimly, guessing his thoughts. Tyler blinked twice, snapping his attention back to the people before him.

"What?"

"Reid," Caleb explained. "He's not here."

Tyler sighed in disappointment.

"Still in hiding? This is so stupid! It's been eight years since Roarden died! How long do we have to cower in fear of a dead guy before we decide it's safe to come out of our caves?"

Caleb didn't answer. He'd heard this argument every visit Tyler made to Aromesia, and the answer was always a void. Only Fin seemed to know the real benefit of hiding Reid away. Caleb would never admit it, but Tyler was voicing Caleb's own thoughts.

"Five more years," Fin answered Tyler's question. "When his firstborn turns thirteen and receives his Covenant power."

"Well, wherever he is," Tyler grumbled. "I hope he's alright…"

Kitty nodded her agreement.

"At any rate," Fin interrupted the moment of silence. "It's time we told you why we sent for you."

~RR~

Please review.
Signed,
-RedRogue