Why?

     The speaker stood in the doorway, with the three shadows of the demons drifting behind him. His appearance, certainly not that of a child seemed to mean that Max's 'birth marks' were the reasons he was chosen by the demons. He stood, fully armored, fully armed, face hidden by the metal covering that extended down from the helmet on his head. Slowly he strode forward, each step ringing on the flagstones of the castle floor, until he came to a stop directly in front of Max, who had been backing away as soon as he'd ascertained the general direction of the other's ambling. Unfortunately, he'd quickly run into a wall, and was left with only the option of raising his chin in an attempt to meet the man's eyes. But the armored stranger was taller enough than Max that the top of Max's head reached only as high as the man's collar bones, and Max was no midget himself.

     "Your loyalty has become your downfall," the man growled at Max, then began laughing, "And it's not even as though Alenna even upheld her end of the vows. She's mother to five children by another man."

     "Who in blazes are you?" Kane tried to move forward, but found all of his muscles to be frozen in place, "What the-"

     "F-," Max's unusually dark eyes paled to almost silver, and his skin was even paler, "Father?"

     "WHAT?!?!" most everyone else in the room yelped uncontrollably.

     "I am proud of you," the man reached up and removed the helmet, revealing that he, too had reddish-brown hair, and strangely dark eyes. He also had a small dragon whose claws were surrounding his left eye, and large, serpentine black marks covering his neck, creating the illusion of an actual image on his throat, "I was no where around at your birth, but by sheer power signature, you recognise your sire," the man began laughing again, this time it was bone-chilling, cold, and absolutely mirthless.

     "Waitaminnit," Kane squawked, "If you're his father, there's no way you could be 'Untouched,' but you aren't a child either. So what gives?"

     "I never said I was the third, merely that the third was here," the man looked at Kane, giving Max an opportunity to relax, "I have the distinct honor of being the father to two of the boys that they need. If only Gryphon had been here, it would have been quite likely that they would have claimed him too."

     "Please, oh, please, oh, please, don't let it be who I think it is," Max clenched his eyes shut, and chanted under his breath the fruitless effort to not know which of his brothers had been used.

I made up a family tree for Max that is definitely impossible, but it's still fun for me to think about. If anyone wants more details, let me know. If I don't die laughing at the request.