Prologue

A man, hooded and cloaked stepped out of the trees. He was holding a long sword in his right hand and a pistol in his left. His dark eyes looked around him warily as if he was expecting someone to pop out from the dark. It was then another cloaked figure stepped out of the darkness. Her hood was down and you could see her gold hair gleam in the moonlight. She was holding something in her hands, wrapped in blankets. "Do you have him?" said the man quietly.

The woman nodded, "Yes, Roland. The baby is right here, but unfortunately we're going to have company soon."

Roland swore, "In that case give the baby to me now, while they're still on their way."

The woman shook her head, "Remember our deal, give me the amulet."

Roland sighed, "Give me the baby first and I will honor our deal."

The woman raised an eyebrow at this and gave the baby to him. Roland then raised the gun and shot it at her head. The woman's eyes grew wide in surprise before she crumpled to the ground, dead. The man put his pistol back in his belt along with his sword. He then held the baby with both of his hands, "I have you now," he murmured to it.

It was then the sound of many feet echoed from the darkness and warriors came out of the darkness. The moonlight illuminated their armor showing their crest of two swords crossing each other with a rose in the middle. Their looked to be twenty of them and each one of them had a sword out. The leader of these warriors stepped out from the crowd. "Give up the baby, Roland," the leader said menacingly, "The least you can do is wait till he gets older. You might kill him otherwise."

Roland let out a cold laugh, "Taking him when he's a baby is the best time. To make sure he obeys from an early age. So I suggest you get your proud warriors out of here before I kill half of them myself."

The leader looked at him, fury in his black eyes, "This is too rash, at least we can make a deal. I can't let you accidentally kill him. It would be the ruin of everything. We'll just wait a few years, after all he'll live forever. You'll have plenty of time."

Roland frowned at this, "What makes you think I can trust you anyway if I agree to a deal. How do I know you just won't kill the boy yourself? After all, why would you want the boy for anyway if I am going to use him for myself? We have never agreed on anything and you think what I am doing is evil when I'm only trying to help."

`The leader then pushed his sword in the dirt, "You could never understand why I wouldn't kill him. But please, just let me have him until he's eighteen. Then I swear I will give him back to you safe and sound."

Roland cocked his head to the side and was silent for a few minutes. He then spoke, his voice like ice, "You're right, I might accidentally kill him when he is this young and fragile. But eighteen years is too late. You will give him to me when he is sixteen, I will accept no other offer. Do we have a deal?"

The leader looked at Roland and then nodded his head, "It's a deal."

Roland smiled and set the baby down on the grass. He was fast asleep with a mob of thick black hair covering his head. "Take good care of him," Roland murmured before he vanished in a whirl of light.

The leader then went over to the baby and carefully picked him up. One of the woman warriors came next to him, "What are you going to do with him?" she asked calmly.

The leader looked at the baby for a moment before replying, "I haven't quite figured that out yet."

Chapter 1

"Hey Alec, we're running out of food. You want to go out today?" said my best friend Charlie. I looked up from eating my sour banana. It tasted like crap in my mouth and I could see the little green and white lines of mold beginning to creep from the side of it. But I didn't care I was starving. Since it was winter, it had been harder to steal food from local stores because it had been so cold. It wasn't like they could afford to buy big wooly jackets and gloves. Only one of the gang members had a decent jacket that he had managed to steal from a man that had been watching some sort of play.

I looked at the banana in my hand with distaste; I couldn't wait until it was summer when they could steal fresh, hot food from people that set up shops outside. My mouth watered at the thought of warm loaves of bread and sweet pastries.

It wasn't their fault they had to steal. Most of the gang had run away from their parents because of abuse and other things. But some of them, including me, were orphans and had no other family members to take care of them. It was either live on the streets or get sent to the orphanage.

I quickly ate the last chunk of the rotten banana, forcing myself not gag, and stood up. The banana had taken away some of my hunger, but not much of it. I swayed slightly on my feet and forced myself to walk. "Let's hope we don't freeze to death," I said, looking at my short sleeve t-shirt that had quite a few holes in it and my torn up jeans that were a little too big for me. I looked at Charlie, his blonde hair was in his face again (he badly needed a haircut) and was as skinny as a stick. They all looked like that now; hunger had taken its toll on all of them.

Emma then stood up. Her long brown gold hair slightly rumpled from lack of brushing. She used to have glasses, but they had broken last year after running away from a man she had been trying to steal from. "Wait Alec," she said, her grayish-blue eyes glowing with determination, "You just went yesterday and you nearly froze to death. Besides you're looking the worst out of all of us, let me go. Anyway, out of all you guys, I'm the best at stealing. I'm small and am a ton quieter than any of you."

I sighed, it was true, she was the smallest and quietest. She wouldn't admit it, but that was her ability. To be sneaky and quiet, she reminded me a lot like a fox.

It was true; most of the gang had abilities. It was considered a curse to have them and most parents would just give up their own kids to the police. It was a law to do so, but there was the occasional parent that resisted against this. No one knows what happens to them when they are taken there, but there had been rumors that the kids were drugged and eventually forced to work, mostly for the army.

You could usually tell who has abilities and who doesn't. People with abilities were usually more beautiful and a lot better at athletics than normal people. They also have strange color eyes and usually ranged from bright emerald green to glowing violet. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that he had an ability. It was the reason why his parents had been killed by the supposed police. He would have been captured too, if it hadn't been for a strange man that had saved him that night. He couldn't see his face because his hood was up and had killed The Society people with a flick of a hand. He had then looked at him and said, "You're very lucky I came when I did. Unfortunately it is not time yet." Before I could ask him what he meant, he disappeared into thin air. I was five then.

I knew then I didn't want to get caught, ever. I ran away from the house and after nearly dying by hunger, was taken in by the gang. I was just a scared little boy then and was freaked out by all the tall teenagers around me. But they were kind to me and comforted me when I woke up in the middle of the night screaming about my dead parents.

Now here I am, fifteen years old and about to get in a massive fight with Emma, "Emma listen," I said, forcing my voice to stay calm, "I know that you're always trying to impress everybody. But it's fierce out there and you're only thirteen. I'll be fine, besides I know I handle the cold better than you."

Emma looked angry at this, "I'm just as capable of going out there as you are. Just because you're a little older than me doesn't mean you have to be the boss all the time. I'm going whether you like it or not!!"

This was hopeless, I thought. I then felt slightly dizzy and took a deep breath, determined not to collapse in front of her. "Emma-."

"What is going on here," said a deep voice. I looked up and was surprised to see Aaron. He was the head of the gang and always made sure to keep everybody under control. Hunger never seemed to affect him and he never grew fatter or skinnier. Not that he needed to, he was a big guy. Compared to him, I felt like a mouse. He had a light dusting of snow in his dark hair and his face looked grim. Two more gang members were behind him. Marissa and Ethan, they all looked shivery and cold in the old shack they were in. A few candles were lit around them, but that was it.

"I was just about to go out with Charlie," I said quickly before Emma could interrupt. She scowled and turned away from him.

"Actually, I want to go instead of him. He just went out yesterday and I thought he could use a break, after all he nearly froze to death," said Emma, holding her head out high.

Aaron walked toward them and shook his head, "I'm sorry Emma, maybe when it gets a little warmer, but right now the cold is too fierce for anyone to go out there now. It's a blizzard out there." He then sat down, looking worried. His eyebrows knit together and he then looked at me. I knew what he said in those eyes, they said we're all going to die unless someone can get through that cold and get some food.

I nodded to him and said, "I'll go by myself. I know I'll get food for all of us and then we'll be full and-."

"No!" said Emma, he eyes were wide and she was shaking her small head in a continuous motion, "You can't go by yourself. You heard Aaron, it's a blizzard and you have no jacket."

I looked at Aaron and he nodded, "Emma, I'll borrow Ethan's coat and I'll be back in a flash." If I get back at all, I thought.

Charlie looked at me, and shook his head, smiling, "When you get back. You get half of the food and if anyone doesn't agree with me then they're going to have go through me."

Everyone smiled at this and I went over to Ethan. His face was expressionless as he shrugged off his coat, "Good luck, bro," was all he said. I nodded ducking my head into the black coat. It was a little small for me, but it was better than nothing. I waved goodbye to everybody and opened the shack door. I was immediately met with a blast of cold air. It cut through Ethan's thin coat like a knife and I shivered, closing the door of the shack.

Aaron was right, it was a massive storm. Snow was blowing in all directions and was so thick that he could barely see two feet in front of him. Okay, he told himself, just a mile to town now, can't be that hard. Twenty minutes later he found out that it was. The wind seemed determined to blow him the other way and it was a major struggle to walk against it. This storm was worse than yesterdays and he knew in his heart that he probably wasn't going to make it. He kept going on anyway, forcing himself to walk against the whirling wind. By the time he was half way there, he was about ready to faint. It didn't feel cold anymore, in fact the wind began to feel rather pleasant. A soft warmth began envelope him, but he knew this was dangerous, to feel this. Was he going to die now, he thought hazily. He then collapsed knee deep in the snow. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to die, I thought numbly; In fact it feels rather good.

I was about to close my eyes when I saw the distant city lights through the storm and I remembered that people were starving to death and they needed me. I groaned and with almost all my will, forced myself to stand. Just a little further, I told myself.

I don't know how I made it, but suddenly I was at the entrance to Caribou Coffee. I weakly opened the door and made it about two steps before I collapsed. My hands were shaking uncontrollably and it hurt to breathe, was I just going to die in a coffee shop? Everyone in the shop stared at me in horror, doing nothing but stare at me. Someone then pulled out a phone, he guessed to call 911 when the door opened behind me. In came a very tall man. He had a long black coat on and black gloves. He nodded to everybody in the shop and said calmly, "No one panic, this is my son. He's just had a very long run and tends to just collapse after." Everyone looked relieved at this and the woman who had pulled out her phone put it back in her purse.

I was suddenly aware that something was weird, why had the man just saved me from police from being questioned? The man then knelt next to me and whispered very softly into his ear, "You don't look to good. You should be glad I just saved you from being interrogated. Do you want something to drink?"

I was surprised by this, how did this man know who I was? And why was he showing me such kindness? The man then held out his gloved hand. I took it and he pulled me up. I almost immediately put almost all my weight against him; I was too weak to do anything else. The man then helped me onto a silver couch and I laid my head onto the armrest.

"What do you want me to get you? Hot chocolate, chai, coffee?"

"Hot chocolate……would be good," I said hoarsely.

The man nodded and left him to go to the counter. He came back a few minutes later with a steaming paper cup and a chocolate chip cookie. I wasn't used to such kindness and said, "Thank you."

The man smiled and handed him the hot chocolate. I took it weakly enjoying the warmth of it seeping through my fingers. I took a sip and the sweetness exploded in my mouth. I had forgotten how good sweet things were. I drank it greedily, ignoring how it scalded my throat and tongue. "You're thirsty," the man commented. I nodded and forced myself to put the hot chocolate down and bite into the cookie. While I was doing this I studied the man's features. He was very tall and lean with coal black hair and eyes. His skin was pale though, like it didn't react to the sun. He was also handsome, in a dark sort of way. The kind of beauty woman seemed to fall for all the time.

"Better?" the man asked.

I nodded, "Thank you. I don't usually get such treats. But if you don't mind me asking who are you and how come you helped me from getting caught?" I asked.

The man smiled and sat down next to him, "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Kris and I thought that it was time for you to meet me."

I looked at him in confusion, "Have you been spying on me?"

Kris suddenly stood up, "How about we go for a little walk and I'll explain everything."

I shook my head, "No, I can't. I'm supposed to be getting back to…….my place."

Kris laughed softly at this and looked at me with gleaming eyes, "I'll get your gang your food if we just have a little talk. It won't be long, I promise."

So he had been spying on me. Why? A fear then welled up inside of me, was he part of the supposed police? Had he been suspecting them for a long time that they had abilities? I fought back a moan, all I wanted to do was get some sleep and I was worrying about a man that was being kind to me. He said he would buy food for them. "Fine, I'll talk with you as long as we don't walk outside and that you promise to get food."

Kris nodded and held his hand out, "I promise and don't worry we'll talk in my car," I took his hand and he pulled me up gently. My feet were still a little unsteady, but at least I could walk without help.

I followed him out of the coffee shop and into the freezing wind outside. I stifled a groan, I had been so comfortable in that small place and now it was the cold again. Luckily the man's car wasn't that far away. The car was a black Chevy Impala and it looked rather battered up. The whole front part of the car had been smashed and there were various large dents around it. I looked at Kris and he gestured for me to come closer to him. I shivered as another blast of wind sliced through Ethan's jacket and I came up next to him. He had pulled something out of his pocket, it seemed to be a needle of some sort, before I could wonder what he was going to use it for, he stabbed me in the arm with it. Surprised, I looked at Kris's face and saw it was blurring. Oh no, he had just injected me with some kind of sleeping drug. Suddenly everything began to spin around me and I would have crashed to the ground if strong hands hadn't caught me. I then fell into blackness.

Chapter 2

Thalia felt her muscles beginning to cramp up again from the amount of exertion she used to try to beat her opponent. The sword was slippery in her hands because of her sweat and it felt like it weighed two tons. She ignored the pain in her muscles and slashed the sword at Daniel's chest. Daniel blocked the blow easily. His dark eyes were calm and he barely seemed tired at all, "Don't always count on strength to help you in fighting. Use your head, try to find a weak point in your enemy," he said.

She knew that Daniel was taking it easy on her, but if he showed all of his skill with the sword he would have beaten her in a flash. Instead he tried to make her learn the simple techniques of all swordsmen.

Ever since she was five, Daniel had chosen to be her master. That was the age that all training started, five. You were never allowed to see your parents after that, until you became a warrior, healer or helper. She was lucky to be chosen to be a warrior and to have one of the greatest warriors as her master. But training was hard work, but she knew it would pay off in the end. I then swung my sword at him, but he blocked it and disarmed me in a second. Her sword flew five feet in the air and crashed into the grass. She felt the cold metal of his sword on her neck, "Dead," he said.

Thalia nodded and wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her hand. "Like usual," she said. Her throat felt very dry and she had a headache from dehydration. Her master then threw her a bottle of water. She caught it with easily with one hand and twisted the cap off and drank the cool water greedily. When she had had enough she threw the bottle to Daniel. He caught it, and wiped his brown hair out of his eyes. "Go get something to eat," he ordered her, "It's already late and we still have much to do."

Thalia nodded her head and ran toward the training building. The building was large and the entrance had two gigantic wooden doors. It was almost entirely covered in windows, and you could see the occasional person practicing archery, hand fighting and so on. In another window she saw their gigantic library and many kids reading. She went toward the wooden doors and they opened for her. She walked inside and was met by Reece. Surprised to find him there, I was speechless. He smiled a bright smile. His blonde hair was gleaming and his eyes were the color of a calm blue sea. He loomed over her and then said, "I was wondering when you would be done. Daniel works you hard." Thalia felt her heart hammer in her chest for how close he was next to her.

He then reached his hand to her face and put a strand of her dark red hair behind her ear. Thalia felt her face flush, "Reece what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be studying for your graduation test?" her voice sounded hurried and she forced herself to take a deep breath.

Reece looked at her with wondering eyes, "I wanted to see you, of course. You haven't visited me in a while and I was wondering what was wrong. Is there something wrong Thalia?"

She looked at him and shook her head, "No nothing's wrong. I've just been really busy lately, after all I'm at the age of fourteen and that's when training really starts to pick up."

Reece sighed, "I've missed you and it's true I have been rather busy too. But I'll be a warrior soon and then I can visit you more often."

Before she could say anything, he kissed her lightly on the lips. Her body responded by this light touch and she felt an urge to kiss him longer, but she resisted the temptation. "Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah, my master wants me to do some other stuff today. I'm sorry, I wish I could be with you, but it's very hard for me right now," she said, suddenly wishing her master could give her some free time once in a while. Reece looked disappointed by this and I hurriedly said, "But you could take me to dinner. I would like that."

Reece laughed at this, "It's better than nothing. What do you want? Chinese? We could get some nice cold jelly fish and pigs hooves or maybe some chicken intestines from Turkey."

Thalia punched him in the arm, "No I think I want something just a little tastier."

"Just a little," said Reece a large smile in his face.

"Yeah just a little," she said, "In fact I feel like pasta with that good marinara sauce that the cooks are excellent at cooking at. Maybe add some of that good chicken on top."

Reece bowed, "Of course, my lady. That sounds absolutely extravagant. Would you also like a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese on it also? It is fresh, right from the oven."

I raised my eyebrows up at this, "I didn't know that parmesan came from the oven."

"Well mine does," he said brightly.

She laughed at this and followed him through the long marble hallway. Many pictures dotted the walls mostly of colorful animals and jumbled up paint spattered onto the canvas to try to make it look like something. They turned a left and the smell of the kitchens wafted in her nose. Her mouth started watering as she smelled the cinnamon and fresh baking crust of apple pie. Reece, who looked hungry also, picked up his pace. The kitchens, like usual, were very busy. They were full of hard working helpers trying to keep up with all the food demands. One of the kitchen girls, seeing their approach, came up to them. She was small and looked nine or ten years old. Her mouse brown hair was coated in sweat and she looked exhausted. Thalia looked at her kindly, sympathy rising inside of her at seeing how the girl was working so hard. "So what do you want? We're running a little short on chicken, but anything else is up for grabs," the small girl said tiredly.

She looked at Reece and he looked back, a crooked smile on his lips, "I think I would like that pasta with marinara with a little sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top."

Thalia smiled back, "I'll have the same and a slice of apple pie with a load of whip cream on top." She looked at Reece expecting him to say he wanted some apple pie too. But nothing came out of his mouth.

"Is that all you want?" said the girl.

Reece nodded, "That's it, thank you."

The girl then left to tell the cooks their order and Reece looked at the assortment of tables with white linen tablecloths and sat down on one with only two seats. She sat down in the other chair, "How come you didn't get the apple pie?" she asked him.

Reece scowled, "It's part of training. I'm not supposed to have sweet things, until I'm a warrior and even then as a special treat. Oh, how I'll miss that light flaky crust and sweet apple taste. Not to mention the fluffy whip cream. It's been six months now and every time I see someone eating some kind of dessert I feel like an animal just wanting to snatch it out of their hands."

She rolled her eyes, but Reece's was serious, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling in the candle light. I momentarily forgot what I was going to say, swallowed by his eyes. She then took a deep breath, breaking herself out of her reverie. "You must be an animal. I remember when we were kids and you used to just go to the kitchens and steal a bucket load of chocolate ice cream. Then you would go sit in a corner and pig out on it."

Reece's face was suddenly expressionless. And she began to wonder what was wrong with him. He then took her hands with his slim ones and looked her straight in the eyes. A blush began to redden her cheeks as he did this, "I've given up on that habit now. It seems I have the sweetest thing in the whole world sitting right in front of me. I need nothing else, but you. I'll live the rest of my life without eating one sweet thing if I could have you."

Thalia looked away from him, "So now you're going to eat me. I didn't know you were a cannibal," she said sarcastically."

Reece's face clouded at this, "Don't you see what I'm trying to say to you, Thalia. I….." he stopped and looked over her head. His face suddenly turned beat red and she turned around. Standing right behind her was Reece's master. He was a tall and rather buff man. The muscle that coated his arms and chest made him look like one of those football players on the NFL. She bowed her head in front of him, as was the sign of respect toward your elders. He barely glanced in her direction and was looking angrily at Reece. Reece's head was down, as if you he knew already what was going to happen.

"Tell me Reece," said his master, a steely edge to his voice, "What the hell are you doing? I thought you were studying and I came to your room to find that you weren't there. I had to borrow a tracker device to find you here. Deciding to stuff yourself with a little food when you found out I was leaving for a few hours! I know you must be starving, but you have to learn to be a little hungry. But I'm even angrier that you decide to hang out with your girlfriend. What is wrong with you, got a little lovesick? Now Get up and go to your room and if I don't see you studying all night, the consequences will be terrible."

Reece stood up, bumping the table with his hip. "Master, for-."

His master glared at him, "I don't want to hear anything. Your test is in a week and you can't afford to have such luxuries as being with her. Go." Reece pushed his chair in and stole a glance at her. He looked ashamed, but…..satisfied at the same time. He walked slowly out of the room with his master right behind him.

When they were gone, she felt lonely just sitting by herself. The food came a few minutes later, brought by the small girl. "Where's that guy you were with," she said as she set her food in front of Thalia.

"He left with his master," she said, "I'm sorry; I don't think he's going to be eating."

The girl sighed, "What a waste of food. Oh well, I'll leave you to eat."

She left and Thalia looked at the food in front of her. She had lost her appetite, now that Reece was gone. His master had always been real harsh, but it was still uncalled for to just make him leave without eating dinner. She sighed and took her fork and picked at the food in front of her. It tasted like nothing in her mouth, but she forced herself to eat the whole thing anyway. The pie was easier to eat and it warmed her stomach. When she was done, she stood up and went to go meet her master by her room.

By the time she came to her room, he was standing by the door. He looked up, seeing her approach. There was an angry look in his eyes. "So I see that you have been keeping Reece from his studies and not to mention yours." A sinking feeling came inside of her as she heard this. So Reece's master had told Daniel what had happened.

"Master," she said calmly, "We hadn't seen each other in a long time and he just wanted to have dinner with me. I thought he was allowed to do that."

Daniel shook his head in disappointment, "I thought you knew better than this, Thalia. So as punishment you're going to be helping the new boy that is coming tonight. You will do this Thalia," he ordered her.

Her eyes grew wide at this. It was considered a very shaming thing for an apprentice warrior to help new people that were brought to become a helper, healer or warrior. "Master, please," she said pleadingly, "Surely I wasn't that terrible. I thought that….."

Daniel shook his head, "No more excuses, Thalia. He should be here any minute now. So I suggest you go meet Kris down by the lawn."

She looked at Daniel in surprise, "Kris brought him. But he's the leader of this place, couldn't he just get someone else to get the boy for him?"

Daniel shook his head, "Kris believed that he should handle this one by himself. Those were his orders and we obey them."

Kris was the leader of everyone. He was also not to mention the best warrior of all. His ability is very powerful and for him to go on an errand by himself must have been very important indeed.

She bowed to her master, trying to hide her anger and left the hall. Great, she thought, now she was going to be humiliated by all students, because she had gotten in trouble for being with Reece. It was unfair that it was always her that had to take the worst of the punishments. At least he'd be a warrior soon and then he could be with her whenever he wanted if Kris didn't give him any assignments.

She walked fast to the stairs that led to the back door. She then wrenched the door open and walked out onto the lawn and to the driveway. They weren't here yet, so she plopped down on the grass and pulled grass out and tied them in knots. They came a few minutes later in a black beat up car. The car stopped and the door opened to reveal Kris. He went to the other side of the car and reached in. He came out holding a boy about her age. The only thing she could see of him was his mess of black hair.

Kris held the boy gently in his arms and looked at her. She bowed low her long hair touching the grass. Kris came over to her and said, "So I see that you must have gotten in some trouble, Thalia. But I'm glad you'll be helping him. I should think he'll wakeup in a few hours. Until then, I would like you to set up some food for him; he'll be very hungry when he wakes up."

She nodded, slightly annoyed that she had to do this, "Of course. I'll get him the good spaghetti."

Kris looked at her straight in the eyes, his black ones so deep she felt naked in front of him, "Good, he'll like that. I'll put him in room 244, be there exactly when he wakes up."

Thalia nodded again, not looking forward to doing any of this stuff. Let alone for the next two weeks. She watched as Kris walked into the building, the last of the sun's rays making the tips of his black hair turn slightly gold.

Chapter 3

I woke up to the sound of footsteps. I sat up stiffly, my back feeling like it had lain on thousands of tiny sharp rocks. I groaned and looked around, confused. I was not in the shack that was for sure. In fact I was in some sort of fancy room. I was on a four poster bed with soft white sheets and fluffy white pillows. Around me were shelves and cabinets full of clothes and different kinds of decorations. Some of them were snow globes others were wooden carved animals. The floor was covered in a thick red carpet and there was a girl standing by the door watching him. She had an annoyed look on her face, but she was very pretty. Long dark red hair framed her head and her dark violet eyes shone in the soft light. She was slim and was wearing dirty jeans and a plain dark blue t-shirt.

It was then it all hit me. The blizzard, the coffee shop, Kris and the needle. He had lied to him, by showing kindness and the idiot that I was, I fell right into his little trick. He said he was going to help them by getting food; instead he was cooped up in this stupid room. What had happened to the gang anyway? Had they thought he was dead and decided that they had no choice but to starve to death? Or had Emma decided that she would try to get some food in the terrible blizzard? Anger and sadness choked his heart at the thought of this.

The girl then came over with a plate of spaghetti. My stomach grumbled as I saw it. It was covered in a light red sauce and smelled delicious. Memories shifted in my head when I was little and my parents would give him warm pasta. It had always been one of his favorite foods. But ever since he became a part of the gang, spaghetti was a luxury they couldn't afford. I looked at it longingly, but forced myself not to eat. I would get some answers first.

The girl set it on the nightstand and looked at him expectantly, "Well, are you going to eat it or not?"

I took in her angry and annoyed face and guessed she didn't like me that much. "Who are you?" I asked her, "and where am I? More importantly where is the man named Kris, so I can beat the hell out of him."

The girl smiled at what I did but quickly covered it up with a smirk, "I suggest you don't talk about Kris that way. He's a nice guy, but if you get him angered he's not that fun to be around. So I suggest you don't beat him up…..ever. You should eat though, you're way skinny."

My face colored at this remark and I looked at the spaghetti. My mouth watered, "I will eat once you tell me your name," I said defiantly.

The girl raised her curved eyebrows, "My name is none of your concern. And I'm not stupid; you look like a hungry wolf the way you're staring at that pasta."

She was right, I thought. I looked at the spaghetti one more time and I gave into my hunger. I took the plate and the fork and dug into it. It tasted even better than it looked. I ate it fast; like I was afraid the food might disappear any moment. The girl watched me with a disgusted look on her face, "Did anybody ever teach you manners? You eat like….a dog, maybe worse because at least a dog is decent enough to clean up after itself."

I ignored her and slurped the last few pieces of spaghetti down my throat. My stomach groaned, it wasn't used to having so much food at one time. I then took the napkin from the plate and wiped my mouth. "Man, was that good," I said satisfied, "I haven't eaten that much since…...four years ago when Ethan managed to steal a whole turkey from someone's oven."

The girl frowned at him, "You stole? You live with people who steal for a living? I didn't know you were that awful."

I looked at her, offended "You would get it if you were us. It was either steal for a living, get captured by the police or starve to death. You probably never had to worry about either of these things. Living in the safety of this place and having all the food you want," I said angrily.

The girl looked hurt by this and stood up, "Well I'm sorry I don't know about your stupid problems. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get my homework done."

The girl then opened the door and nearly ran into a tall man, Kris. She hurriedly bowed to him and he gestured for her to leave. The girl left quickly, shutting the door behind her. I looked at Kris angrily and stood up. My hands clenched into fists, ready to make him pay. I ran at him, preparing to beat him up, which was rather stupid, because in swift motion he had my arms behind my back in an awkward position. I cried out, at the fierce pain that clawed up my arm. I struggled from his grip, but it only made my arms hurt more. I then gave up and hung limply from his arms. Tears filled my vision from the pain and Kris said, "Now let's talk nicely. I'll let you go if you promise to do so."

I nodded my head and he released me. I sank onto the bed and rubbed my arms, they had almost popped out of their sockets the way he was holding them. I looked at Kris and saw he was studying me like a predator does with its prey. "You probably have a lot of questions and I'm sorry that I had to do that to you, you would never have come with me anyway," he said calmly.

I glared at him, "You lied to me, you said you promised that you would get food for the gang. Instead you captured me and took me to this place. So now my friends have either died or half dead all thanks to you."

Kris sighed softly and took something out of his pocket. It was a small metal star. He watched as he twisted the metal, "I keep my promises, Alec, when you were unconscious I went over to your little shack and gave your friends all the food they could possible ever eat and a house where they could all live in piece with a million dollars in their account. They will probably live in luxury for the rest of their lives."

I sat there, stunned for moment. Was he telling the truth or was he just saying that? I watched as Kris continued bending the metal and saw with fascination that he had turned it into a bird. "How do I know that you aren't lying? You could just be saying this stuff."

Kris set the metal down and took something else out of his pocket. It looked to be a small mirror that could fit in the palm of your hand, "This is a seeing glass. It shows you what you want to know anywhere in the world. All you do is think what you want to know most and it will show it to you."

I looked at the glass in wonderment and he gave it to me. It felt cool in my hand and I touched the shiny mirror. It felt smooth to the touch. I closed my eyes and thought of Emma, making sure to remember her blue-grey eyes and small figure. I opened my eyes and looked at the glass. It shimmered and swirled in a mix of colors and then it settled to show Emma laughing. She was watching a movie on a gigantic T.V. Aaron and Charlie were sitting next to her, laughing also. I smiled at how much they were enjoying themselves and felt a longing in my heart to join them. As fast as the picture appeared it disappeared into blackness. I looked at Kris and saw he was watching me with wary eyes. "I believe you now," I said weakly, "Thank you, I'm glad that they can enjoy the rest of their life now."

Kris nodded, and I gave him the seeing glass, "You're probably wondering what I want with you," he said coolly, "Ever since you were five I have been watching you as you probably guessed. Once in a while we allow kids from the outside to join our ranks, but there was something about you that I found different. You see, your ability interested me, but I wasn't sure if you should join us yet because of it. So I watched you to see what changes your ability would do to you. Nothing changed at first, but then I realized……" Kris suddenly stopped and looked at me. I waited impatiently for him to continue.

"Well, you realized what. I was a freak of nature or something?" I said irritably.

Kris shook his head, "No, but you're too young yet. When you're older I'll explain it better. I'm sorry I completely lost myself for a second. For now, I would like you to become a student here. We'll find a fitting master for you and you can learn until you become…….I believe a warrior."

I looked at Kris and shook my head, "No, I didn't ask for this! You brought me here against my will and now you just expect me to just follow you like a dog. You won't even tell me what my ability is or what the hell you realized. No, I won't join your little club. Not even for a million bucks. Now I would appreciate it if you would drop me off where you stuck that needle thing in me so I can get on with my life."

Kris looked at him coldly, "Most people wouldn't refuse such an offer and until you do accept it you will be locked in this room. And don't think you'll be living in comfort either, you won't sleep or eat until you do as your told."

I felt myself getting extremely angry at this, "And how do you expect me not to sleep? You can't make me not sleep."

Kris walked over to the door, "You would be surprised, Alec, of what I can do." He then left the room and I heard the click of a lock. I slammed my fist on the dresser when he was gone, bruising most of my knuckles. I then laid my head back. Instantly a fierce pain rang through my whole body. I cried out and stood up so fast. The pain stopped almost immediately. So that's what he meant that I wouldn't sleep, he decided to use some kind of magic to torture me every time I tried to relax. This was not going to be fun, I thought.

I sat down on the bed and the terrible pain swarmed my body again. I stood up again, I can't even sit, I said to myself, just great. I sighed and stood there in the middle of the room. Boredom soon came upon me and I looked around for something to do. There were no books, but the snow globes looked fun enough. I took one, shook it a little then smashed it to the floor. It shattered with a crash. See how he takes that, he thought angrily. He took another snow globe and smashed it to the floor. He continued doing this until all the snow globes lay shattered on the floor. I smiled, satisfied and leaned against the wall. That was a mistake and the pain that came through me nearly made me collapse to the floor. I moaned and forced myself to walk.

Hours later, my legs were beginning to ache from standing so long. I found that pacing helped a little and I did that for a few hours. My legs soon became tired from that and I just stood there. More hours passed and I began to ponder how long I'd been standing there. I began feeling really tired and I yawned. I paced again and soon decided to try balancing on one leg to keep the tiredness away. It helped for a few minutes, but my body soon didn't want to do stuff like that anymore.

More hours passed and I felt like I was just going to pass out from tiredness. I tried putting my in between my legs, but that barely helped. I paced again and then I just stood there, too tired to do anything else. I tried sleeping while standing, but that didn't turn out that well and I had crumpled to the floor only to stand up screaming. It jolted me awake and I swayed on my feet. I was going to have to give in soon, I thought, aching with tiredness.

The door then opened to reveal the girl that had given him food earlier. I looked at her through half closed eyes. Her face was a mask of surprise, "Are you alright? You don't look too good."

"You think," I said feebly.

I then forced myself to walk over to her and then without really meaning to, collapsed on top of her. I was surprised she didn't fall to the ground because of my weight. In fact she pushed me to the ground and I began screaming like hell was loose. "I accept," I cried in agony. The pain stopped almost immediately and I almost started sobbing with relief.

The door opened and in came Kris. He looked slightly worried, but I barely began to wonder why when I passed out.

Chapter4

Thalia looked in horror at the boy. He looked half dead from exhaustion when she came in. She was even more surprised when he had started screaming when she pushed him to the floor. Now he just lay there passed out with Kris kneeling over him. She watched as he checked his pulse and then very carefully picked him up. He hung limply from his arms, strands of black hair covering part of his face. He was cute, she thought, with his silver eyes and long thick black lashes, but not her type. For one thing he was too skinny, she liked boys who had a little muscle on their bones and was very protective. Protective boys were definitely not on her list.

Kris looked really worried as he studied the boy's face, "I didn't know he would last that long. I could have killed him on accident. He's been in this room for three days without sitting or anything."

She looked at Kris in shock, "What did you do to him? He looks dead to me. Have you been torturing him?"

Kris looked at her, a troubled look on his face, "In a way, I did. But he didn't accept when I asked him to become one of us. So I had no choice but to resort to this. I admit, I could probably think of something less harmless, but I was so shocked he didn't accept and I was angry."

She couldn't help but glare at Kris. She knew it was extremely disrespectful to do this, especially to the leader, but he deserved it, "I hope you give him one hell of a dinner when he wakes up," she said, he voice full of fury, "because right now he's going to hate you for the rest of his life."

She then stomped out of the room. She knew for that act she would have normally been in huge trouble, but she hoped because of how cruel Kris had been that he wouldn't make her have a terrible detention. She then nearly sprinted to her room and slammed the door with all the force she could muster. It closed with a loud clang and she heard something crack on the wood of the door. She didn't care though and threw herself onto her bed.

Right now she felt like punching something.

I woke up to a delicious smell. I groaned and sat up, wondering where I was. I was in a bed with white sheets, but it wasn't that terrible bedroom I was in before. In fact it looked like I was in some sort of infirmary. More white beds surrounded me, most of them with no people in them. There were large glass cabinets beside each bed holding various, he guessed, medicines.

I found that the delicious smell came from some soup that a women dressed all in white was carrying. She had short spiky auburn hair and eyes that were bright gold. Her eyes were the one thing that amazed me; I didn't know someone's eyes could be that gold. She looked to be about in her early twenties and was more on the tallish side. "Hi," she said smiling, "I see that you're finally awake. I was getting worried about you, been out for the past two days. You must be hungry and I brought you some soup. Soup is always good when you haven't eaten in a long time.

She handed the bowl to me. It was very warm in my hands and I could see the tendrils of steam rising from it. "What kind is it," I asked.

"Cream of mushroom with wild rice," she replied, "Don't worry it's absolutely scrumptious.

I nodded, just wanting to eat. I picked up the spoon and was surprised at how weak my hands were in grasping the spoon. So not relaxing for who knew how long had taken its toll on me, I thought. I took a sip from the spoon and it tasted delicious.

I ate quickly at first, but she soon stopped me from doing this, "Eat slower," she ordered, "Otherwise you'll throw up." I reluctantly did as I was told and found I could barely finish half of the soup.

I lay down on the bed again, feeling tired. The door to the infirmary then opened and in came Kris. A fierce loathing for him suddenly built up inside of me. He had basically forced me to accept to become one of them. I looked at him and saw he was walking toward me. He was wearing a light white t-shirt and dark jeans. I could see the long stringy muscles that roped up his arms and knew that this was a powerful guy. I was suddenly ashamed of my lankiness; I probably looked like a skeleton.

Kris knelt next to me, his eyes were downcast, "I'm so very sorry, please forgive me," he said pleadingly, "That was uncalled for and I should have had more control of myself. If there is anything you need, you just have to ask for it."

I looked at Kris with all the hate I could, "You know, I think the only way I could ever forgive you is if you let me go."

Kris sighed, "I'm sorry, that is one thing I will not do. You have accepted and once you do there is no turning back unless I command you to. And I didn't exactly go through all that trouble just to let you go."

I expected this answer and looked dully at the covers, "I guess I'll have to accept that…..So when do I start?" I said defeated.

The beginning of a smile touched his face, "Right down to business, I like that. Well I want you to rest for a couple of days. And I've already decided your master. Her name is Dawn and she'll explain about everything we do here. She's one of the best warriors we have and I suggest you don't anger her or you'll find yourself without an arm. Tomorrow we also have a ceremony I would like you to attend to. I'm hoping it will give you more of an understanding of what we do around here. Thalia will show you around that day, hopefully she'll explain everything."

I looked at him confused, "What kind of ceremony and who's Thalia?"

Kris stood up, "The ceremony is an apprentice warrior becoming a warrior. When this happens it is a time of great celebration. Thalia is the girl who gave you that spaghetti six days ago."

"WHAT!" I cried in shock, "You mean that I haven't eaten in six days. Who do you think I am, superman?"

"I think you need to rest," said Kris gently, "I'll see you tomorrow at the ceremony."

I was surprised at how he ended our conversation so fast. I watched him leave, as he gently closed the door.

I laid my head down on the pillow again and almost immediately fell back asleep.

Thalia gasped as Daniel wrenched her arms behind her and then did the choke hold around her neck. "Dead," he said for the tenth time that day. She nodded, sweat dripping into her eyes. She was exhausted; her master had decided to work her extra hard today. Her arms felt like lead and her head was spinning.

"I think that's enough for today," Daniel said, "Go get ready for the ceremony and don't forget to take the new boy with you."

Thalia rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yes master."

Daniel smiled at her fondly, before she turned around and went back toward the building. She didn't pass many people on the way to her room and was glad of it, annoyed that she couldn't spend much time together with Reece at his ceremony. When she came to her room she immediately went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When it was steaming hot, she took off her sweaty clothes and got in. Her bathroom really wasn't much to look at. Mostly all white tiles, even the sink was white marble. She had her favorite pomegranate shampoo and orange body wash that smelled particularly nice. It wasn't till she was done with her shower that she realized that she had nothing to wear to Reece's ceremony. She swore under her breath and wrapped her white towel around her body. She opened the door of the bathroom and let out a cry of surprise to see Daniel sitting on her bed with a piece of clothing in his hands.

"Master! What are you doing in a lady's bedroom? Especially when she's showering? That is so un-gentleman like."

Daniel smiled mischievously and stood up, the clothing in his hands unfolding. She gasped; it was a long silk midnight blue dress with spaghetti straps. It looked tight up to the waist before it flared out in waves of silk.

"It's beautiful….," she said in astonishment, "Thank you, master."

Daniel bowed, "It is my duty to serve my apprentice."

She smiled and took the blue dress from him, "And now I think it's time you leave me to change."

Daniel nodded, "Of course, and don't forget about the boy. You're supposed to get him ten minutes from now," he said quickly before he left the room. Probably because he knew she would get mad at him for reminding her again. She sighed and put the dress on. It fit her perfectly and she went to go look in the mirror. She had to admit that she looked sexy, even with her wet hair. She smiled at herself and took the blow drier from the bottom cabinet. She plugged it in and began to dry her hair. It didn't take long before it was done and she went to go look for some good shoes that would match her dress. She wasn't usually the girly girl type so she had only one pair of high heels that were black. Well those would have to work. She quickly put them on before she hurried out the door to go get the boy. She had to remember to ask his name.

By the time she came to the infirmary, her feet were beginning to ache really badly from the shoes. She had only worn high heels once in her life and that was only for an hour when she had to go to this short warrior ceremony. She would have to live, even though her feet were probably going to be skinned by the time the ceremony was over.

The boy was sitting on the white infirmary bed, staring sadly at his hands. He looked up when she came in, a look of astonishment on his features. He looked a lot better since the last time she had seen him. He was wearing a black tux that looked really good on him and his messy black hair had been carefully brushed to look decent. All in all he looked really, really cute. She knew she shouldn't be thinking this stuff, but it wasn't like she loved him or anything. She loved Reece and no one else could replace him. He was too cool, too handsome to be replaced.

The boy looked a little awkward at seeing her, so Thalia helped him out, "You ready? I mean it's perfectly fine if you're too tired to come. I have better things to do than watch you."

The boy glared at her, "You really hate me, don't you."

Thalia sneered at him, "Let's just say, you're my detention for being a bad girl. So no, I guess I don't really like you. But you have my pity for what Kris did to you."

The boy stood up and went over to her, "At least I have your pity…..Thalia."

She looked at him in surprise, "I guess it's no surprise that Kris told you my name."

"No," he responded.

"Well then, now that you know mine you can tell me yours."

The boy looked at her, his silver eyes glimmering like stars, "I'm Alec."

Chapter 5

To think that I actually thought that Thalia was a nice person, turns out she chose every possible moment to show that she hated me. When she had led me down to the ceremony, I saw at least two hundred people grouped around a podium. All of these people were lean hardy people. The older ones had long swords at their waist, and most of the kids at least had a small dagger on their belts. On the podium were three people. One was, I recognized, Kris. He was wearing a long black cloak that nearly covered his whole body and his black hair had been greased back out of his eyes. The other person was a kid, a little older than him, tall and muscular with short blonde hair, neatly combed. He had a nice face, one of those boys that never had trouble finding a girlfriend. The person next to him was a tall, buff man with a strong jaw. He looked like one of those wrestler guys that you never want to get into a fight with.

I looked at Thalia, who was looking at the podium expectantly. It was then the blonde kid looked straight at her and winked. I watched as she blushed and I asked, "Who are those two people next to Kris?"

She sighed and pointed at the blonde kid, "That is Reece; he's the one who's turning into a warrior today. The guy next to him is his master. You are lucky you get to see a warrior ceremony so quickly. They are the rarest out of the three categories."

"Three categories?" I asked in confusion.

She rolled her eyes, "New people are so annoying. When you turn five the elders have a look at you to see if you're one of the three categories: Helper, Healer, or Warrior. A Helper is someone who helps with food, cleans and so on. A Healer, as you can probably guess, heals people. A Warrior is the people who fight. Don't ask me who they fight because I'm not allowed to tell you yet. When you're picked into one of these categories a master is given to you according to your category. You get it?"

I nodded, "Yeah....so what are you?"

She smiled at me proudly, "I'm a warrior. But I'm confused about you. Training starts when you're five. How old are you? Sixteen?"

"Fifteen," I replied.

"Fifteen, whatever. You'll be way behind everybody."

I looked at her coldly, "It's not like I asked for this, okay. So stop acting like I'm the one who wanted this because if it was up to me I would still be living off the streets, instead of being tortured for not joining something I don't even know about."

Thalia looked about to say something, but a booming voice rose over the crowd. It was Kris's voice and he was holding a microphone. "As you all well know today is a very special day. One of our apprentices has completed his training and will be accepted among our society as a warrior!"

Everyone around me began clapping and cheering enthusiastically. I clapped slowly, before I stopped with everyone else, waiting for Kris to continue. "Reece Longborn," he continued, "will you please kneel in front of your master and your leader."

Reece did as he was told and knelt next to them, his head bowed. Kris then took something from his pocket. It was a vial of some sort which he held out to the audience. "Reece, hold out your hand," he ordered.

Reece did so and Kris poured the liquid that was in the vial into Reece's palm. Immediately a white light began to emanate from his palm. It soon began spreading all around his body before it began fading away. I watched this in fascination, wondering what kind of liquid had been in the vial. Kris then nodded to Reece's master who said, "Reece Longborn, you have trained well and diligently as my apprentice. The ways of a warrior are tough and will require all that you have been trained to do. Will you, Reece, swear to help others in need?"

He nodded his bowed head, "Yes, master."

"Will you swear to only fight when it is needed or when your leader tells you?"

"Yes, master."

"Do you swear," he said sternly, "To do as you're told by your elders and your leader."

"Yes, master."

Reece's master smiled and took the sword that was hanging from his belt and gave it hilt first to Reece. "Then you no longer no me as master and you shall now call me by my real name, Max. Now rise, warrior and upheld your duties."

Reece took the hilt of the sword and rose. He looked different now; something in that vial had changed him, made him look older and stronger. "Thank you," he said to both of them, before he hooked the sword onto his belt.

Kris smiled at him, "Congratulations, Reece." Everyone immediately burst into applause, before they began to disperse, to what I guess was the festivities. I quickly looked at Thalia and saw she was making her way toward Reece. I quickly followed her and saw her hug Reece tightly.

"Congratulations!" She said excitedly, "So you passed! I'm so happy."

They pulled apart and he began stroking her hair